<3VI 


< 


1 1 


ft 


1    i 


•»     w 

2     tj 
^     ? 

s 

^     "2, 


LISA  AXD  FREDDIE.  —  Fiddling  Freddie,  Frontispiece. 


FIDDLING   FREDDY 


BY 

NEIL   FORREST. 


NEW   YORK: 
ANSON  D.  F.  RANDOLPH  &  COMPANY, 

770  BROADWAY,  COB.  9TH  St. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1S71,  by 

ANSON  D.  F.  RANDOLPH  &  CO., 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington, 


E.  o.  JENKINS, 

PRINTER    AND    STEREOTYPER, 
SO  N.  WILLIAM  ST..  N.  Y. 


PZ7 


FIDDLING     FREDDY. 


.  i. 


T^HE  cold  wind  of  November  was  whirl- 
ing the  withered  autumn  leaves  along 
the  city  streets,  chasing  them  into  corners, 
whisking  them  out  again,  tossing  them  aloft 
in  the  air,  and  treating  them  very  badly, 
and  in  a  manner  to  which  they  were  quite 
unaccustomed,  for  all  summer  long  they 
had  danced  on  the  boughs,  and  the  sun  had 
smiled  as  the  wind  sighed  so  softly  through 
the  green  branches,  and  coaxed  them  down 
one  by  one  ;  and  now  that  they  were  down, 
how  rude  it  was  to  bluster  and  roar,  and 
chase  them  in  such  a  furious  way. 

(3) 


FIDDLING    FREDDY. 


But  November  breezes  are  not  to  be 
trusted  ;  they  whisper  one  minute,  and  roar 
the  next ;  sometimes  they  will  be  so  quiet 
and  good,  and  then  suddenly  begin  to  howl 
and  shriek  in  angry  gusts,  just  as  they  were 
doing  one  cold  day,  when  Freddy  stood  be- 
fore a  large  brown  stone  house,  holding  his 
cap  in  his  hand,  to  catch  a  penny  which  a 
rosy  little  girl  was  trying  to  throw  from  an 
open  window.  She  threw  it  as  hard  and  as 
far  as  she  could  over  the  area  railings,  and 
then  hurried  to  shut  the  window,  for  the 
cruel  wind  whispered  to  her ;  "  Go  in,  my 
little  dear,  I  don't  need  your  little  pug  nose 
this  morning,  for  I  mean  to  bite  Freddy's 
bare  feet." 

And  the  penny  hopped  into  the  street, 
and  kept  on  hopping  till  it  reached  the  gut- 
ter, and,  just  as  Freddy  stooped  to  pick  it 
up,  the  wind  knocked  off  his  ragged  cap 
which  he  had  replaced  on  his  head,  and 
away  it  went,  flying  almost  as  fast  as  the 
leaves.  Freddy  picked  up  the  penny  hast- 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  5 


ily,  put  it  in  his  mouth,  and  ran  after  the 
cap.  It  was  a  very  ugly  cap  to  look  at — 
a  very  shabby,  old  worn-out  little  cap,  with- 
out a  brim,  with  the  lining  all  ragged,  and 
two  holes  in  the  tip-top  of  it.  But  was  it 
all  Freddy  had,  and  he  was  determined  not 
to  let  the  wicked  wind  get  it,  just  to  throw 
it  into  the  river.  It  bounced  and  rolled 
along  just  ahead  of  him,  as  his  short  legs 
and  little  bare  feet  trotted  briskly  after  it ; 
sometimes  he  would  almost  touch  it,  but  as 
he  leaned  over  it,  a  sudden  gust  would 
whirl  it  off  again,  and  away  it  went,  skim- 
ming down  the  street  with  Freddy  after  it. 

At  last  he  caught  it,  and  with  panting 
breath  and  glowing  cheeks,  he  returned  to 
his  former  position  and  joined  a  man  who 
was  covering  his  hand-organ,  and  preparing 
to  lift  it  on  his  shoulder  and  walk  away. 

"  Can't  you  keep  your  hat  on  your  head  ?" 
said  he  gruffly  to  Freddy,  who  was  now 
polishing  the  penny  on  his  sleeve,  prepara- 
tory to  handing  it  to  the  man. 


FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


"  If  I  had  a  bit  o'  string  I  could,  Tonio— 
got  such  a  thing  about  you  ?" 

Tonio  only  grumbled  some  reply,  which 
Freddy  did  not  hear,  but  his  tone  was  so 
cross  he  thought  it  best  not  to  question  him 
further,  and  he  followed  him  silently  till 
another  street  was  reached,  when  Tonio 
again  lowered  his  organ  and  ground  out 
a  tune  on  it.  Freddy  immediately  began 
to  caper  and  spring  about  in  an  extraordi- 
nary way,  whirling  round,  leaping  high  in 
the  air,  waving  his  arm  wildly  above  him, 
and  every  few  moments  clapping  his  other 
hand  on  top  of  his  head  to  hold  on  his  cap. 
If  it  had  been  some  rare  singing-bird,  Fred- 
dy could  not  have  been  more  anxious  to 
prevent  its  flight. 

This  hopping  and  whirling  and  leaping 
was  Freddy's  way  of  dancing,  and  when  he 
had  kept  it  up  for  a  minute  or  so,  he  stop- 
ped as  suddenly  as  he  had  begun,  seized  the 
rebellious  cap  in  his  hand,  and  made  a  sud- 
den dart  at  a  gentleman  who  was  passing  by. 


FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


"  Eh  !  what !  what's  this  ?"  said  he  in  a 
tone  of  surprise.  "  Get  out  with  you,  you 
rascal,  or  I'll  have  you  taken  up  !"  and  on 
he  went.  Freddy  did  not  appear  to  be  sur- 
prised at  all  at  this  reception,  but  carried 
his  cap  to  every  one  who  passed  by.  Some 
gave  him  pennies,  and  some  took  no  notice 
at  all  of  him,  and  some  laughed,  and  some 
scolded  and  said,  "  little  nuisance  !"  and  all 
hurried  along.  Then  Freddy  looked  up  at 
the  windows  of  the  houses,  and  when  he 
saw  anybody  sitting  by  one,  he  bowed  and 
laughed  and  held  out  his  cap,  and  gave  a 
few  more  leaps  and  springs,  and  a  lady, 
who  had  a  baby  in  her  arms,  tossed  out 
two  pennies,  which  hopped  and  rolled  just 
as  the  other  had  done,  and  he  had  to  hop 
after  them.  As  he  stooped  for  the  last  one, 
he  put  it  hastily  in  his  mouth,  and,  when  he 
handed  the  money  to  Tonio,  he  did  not 
give  this  one  to  him. 

Tonio  looked  at  him  sharply  and  counted 
the  money,  but  Freddy  pretended  to  be 


8  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


looking  diligently  for  more  pennies,  and 
did  not  look  at  Tonio,  who  pocketed  all 
that  had  been  given  him,  and  again  shoul- 
dered his  organ.  And  now  the  wind  did 
one  good  thing  :  it  blew  a  bit  of  twine  di- 
rectly into  Freddy's  face.  In  a  minute  he 
caught  it,  and,  with  a  little  cry  of  triumph, 
he  passed  one  end  of  the  string  through  a 
hole  in  his  cap,  and  fastened  it,  and  then 
tied  the  other  end  to  a  hole  in  his  jacket. 
When  this  was  done,  he  walked  along 
proudly ;  no  dandy  in  Broadway  with  a 
silk  hat  felt  better  satisfied  with  himself 
than  Freddy. 

At  the  next  house  before  which  Tonio 
stopped,  there  were  two  children,  who  clap- 
ped their  hands,  and  cried,  "  Oh,  here  comes 
an  organ  man  !"  and  they  made  signs  to 
Tonio  to  play.  They  laughed  heartily  at 
Freddy's  wild  dance,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
the  front  door  was  opened,  and  a  servant 
appeared  with  sixpence  for  Tonio,  and  a 
request  that  the  little  boy  should  sing. 


FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


At  this  Freddy  looked  dismayed,  but  To- 
nio  told  him  to  sing  at  once,  and  immedi- 
ately stopped  grinding  on  his  organ.  Fred- 
dy only  knew  one  song,  and  but  few  words 
of  that.  He  had  heard  Tito,  one  of  his  boy- 
friends, sing  it.  He  tried  to  dance  again, 
hoping  that  would  please  the  children,  but 
they  made  signs  to  him  to  sing,  and  Tonio 
commanded  him  to  do  so,  in  an  angry  tone. 
But  how  was  he  to  sing  with  the  penny  in 
his  mouth  ?  However,  he  dared  not  dis- 
obey, and  began  : 

"  My  mountain  home,  te  yortle  too, 
My  heart  for  thee,  too  lortle  too, 
Still  sighs  and  longs — " 

At  this  point  the  song  broke  off  suddenly, 
and  Freddy  went  stamping  round  for  a  few 
minutes,  as  though  he  had  gone  crazy.  The 
penny  had  slipped  down  his  throat,  notwith- 
standing his  efforts  to  prevent  it  from  doing 
so,  but  \hejodel  was  too  much  for  him,  and 
down  went  the  penny. 


IO  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 

Poor  Freddy  felt  as  if  he  would  choke  to 
death,  but  he  was  determined  not  to  let 
Tonio  see,  for  fear  he  would  know  that  he 
had  kept  back  the  money.  By  dint  of 
coughing  and  much  strangling  he  man- 
aged to  get  it  out  of  his  throat,  and  once 
more  held  it  in  his  cheek,  concealed.  To- 
nio called  to  him  and  swore  at  him,  but  he 
was  too  much  out  of  breath  to  sing  again, 
and  so  they  bowed  to  the  children,  who  did 
not  know  what  to  make  of  Freddy's  queer 
song  and  movements,  and  once  more  they 
walked  on.  . 

As  the  evening  drew  on,  Freddy  did  not 
dance  with  such  energy,  and  after  awhile 
he  only  shuffled  his  feet  on  the  pavement, 
and  nobody  took  any  notice  of  him.  Every- 
body seemed  to  be  in  a  greater  hurry  than 
ever,  and,  as  the  streets  darkened,  the 
bright  gas-lights  appeared  in  the  houses, 
and  the  rich  warm  curtains  were  dropped 
before  the  windows,  hiding  the  children, 
who  were  always  the  best  customers.  So 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  II 


Tonio  concluded  that  it  was  time  to  go 
home. 

Freddy's  feet  were  numbed  with  the  cold, 
and  as  he  shuffled  along  after  Tonio,  rub- 
bing one  against  the  other  to  try  and  warm 
them,  he  thought  about  the  happy  children 
in  those  beautiful  houses,  who  were  always 
so  warmly  clothed,  and  were  shielded  and 
guarded  from  every  evil.  They  did  not 
know  what  it  was  to  feel  this  biting  wind 
tweak  their  noses  and  ears  and  feet  and 
hands.  They  did  not  have  to  dance  all  day 
long  to  get  their  living. 

"  I  wonder  why  they  have  so  much,  and 
I  have  so  little,"  thought  the  boy.  "  But 
then  I'm  better  off  than  Lisa,"  said  he  to 
himself;  "for  I  get  plenty  to  eat,  and  she 
don't." 

And  he  rolled  the  penny  round  in  his 
mouth.  It  was  a  very  uncomfortable  place 
to  carry  it,  but  his  pockets  had  long  ago 
become  so  ragged  that  they  would  not  hold 
anything,  and  his  cap  had  to  be  taken  off 


12  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


constantly.  Besides,  it  had  so  many  holes 
in  it  that  a  penny  would  have  dropped 
through  it  if  any  one  should  put  one  in, 
which  never  happened,  for,  though  he  al- 
ways held  it  for  them,  the  people  who  gave 
generally  threw  them  far  beyond  the  little 
old  cap,  into  the  street. 

On  and  on  trotted  Freddy  behind  Tonio 
and  the  organ,  until  they  reached  an  alley, 
opening  off  one  of  the  narrow,  dirty,  crowd- 
ed streets,  far  away  from  the  broad  hand- 
some avenues  they  had  visited  that  day. 

Going  down  the  alley  and  turning  to  the 
right,  they  entered  a  dingy  old  house,  toiled 
wearily  up  a  pair  of  rickety,  creaking  stairs, 
and  opening  a  door,  found  themselves  in 
a  long  room,  with  low  ceiling,  dirty  walls, 
broken  windows  and  bare  floor.  There  were 
about  fifteen  men  already  in  this  room,  and, 
as  Tonio  entered,  they  greeted  him  with 
mingled  exclamations  of  welcome,  derision 
and  abuse. 

They  spoke  in  different  languages,  some 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  13 


in  Italian,  others  in  a  French  patois,  and  oth- 
ers again  in  English.  But  all  were  grum- 
bling, and  seemed  to  have  been  waiting  for 
Tonio,  who  sat  down  wearily,  and  began  to 
cough  violently.  As  soon  as  he  recovered 
breath,  he  signed  to  Freddy,  who  went  from 
one  to  the  other  of  the  men,  receiving  a 
small  sum  of  money  from  each,  which  To- 
nio counted,  and,  adding  a  trifle  more,  told 
Freddy  to  be  quick  and  go  and  buy  supper. 
Tired  as  he  was,  he  started  off  with  alac- 
rity, for  he  was  hungry,  too,  and  he  very 
well  knew  that  there  was  no  rest  for  him 
till  the  supper  was  over. 

On  his  way  down  stairs  he  stopped  at  the 
door  of  another  room,  and  gave  a  long  loud 
knock,  calling  out,  "  Sally,  come  up."  This 
was  a  signal  to  the  old  woman  who  lived 
there  to  carry  the  coffee  she  had  made  up- 
stairs, together  with  such  portions  of  the 
supper  as  she  had  cooked.  This  old  woman 
was  paid  by  the  men  to  cook,  wash  and 
mend  for  them. 
2 


14  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


She  was  known  as  Sally,  and  if  she  had 
any  other  name,  Freddy  had  never  heard 
it.  The  men  were  all  organ-grinders,  fid- 
dlers, harpists,  or  strolling  minstrels,  who 
went  about  in  bands. 

Their  days  were  spent  in  much  the  same 
way  as  Tonio  and  Freddy,  and  at  night  they 
all  assembled  in  this  room,  paying  for  it  by 
joint  contributions,  as  they  did  for  their 
meals.  They  were  a  tired  and  a  cross  set 
of  men  just  now,  for  they  were  hungry  ; 
but  at  times,  when  they  had  supper  and 
were  rested,  they  were  lively  and  jolly 
enough ;  Freddy  had  never  known  any 
other  home.  He  remembered  nothing  but 
this  home  and  Tonio  and  the  long,  long 
streets — no  mother,  no  gentle  or  caressing 
voice,  no  playthings  or  amusements,  only 
this  close  crowded  room,  or  trotting  be- 
hind the  organ  and  dancing  on  the  streets. 
But  Freddy  had  a  cheerful  heart,  and,  as 
he  knew  nothing  better,  he  was  quite  con- 
tented and  happy. 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  15 

There  were  times  when  Tonio  was  cross 
and  would  swear  at  him  and  even  strike 
him  ;  but  the  poor  child  was  used  to  swear- 
ing, and  learned  to  dodge  the  blows.  He 
had  no  one  to  teach  him  to  be  good,  and 
he  was  like  a  little  heathen  in  one  respect — 
he  knew  nothing  about  God. 

The  men  with  whom  he  lived  earned  an 
honest  living  by  playing  on  their  musical 
instruments,  and  they  all  gained  enough  in 
this  way  to  keep  them  above  want ;  but, 
though  they  did  not  steal,  nor  teach  Freddy 
to,  they  did  what  was  very  nearly  as  bad  : 
they  gambled  nearly  every  night,  sitting 
up  long  after  midnight  over  their  cards. 
Fortunately  for  him,  Freddy  was  always  so 
tired  with  his  day's  work  that  he  fell  asleep 
as  soon  as  supper  was  over,  and  never  knew 
what  took  place  around  him  after  that.  All 
the  oaths  and  quarreling  of  the  men  were 
unheard  while  he  slept  peacefully ;  but 
while  this. saved  him  from  hearing  a  great 
deal  that  was  sinful,  and  his  life  with  Tonio 


16  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


kept  him  fully  occupied  in  the  daytime,  and 
out  of  mischief,  you  may  imagine  that  he 
learned  little  good  from  those  around  him. 

If  he  did  not  steal,  it  was  more  because 
he  was  afraid  of  Tonio  than  because  he 
knew  it  to  be  wicked.  He  was  only  nine 
years  old.  At  that  age  a  child  cannot  be 
depraved  ;  but,  alas  !  for  him  if  he  is  sur- 
rounded by  those  who  are. 

When  Freddy  had  knocked  at  the  door, 
he  ran  off  quickly  to  the  store  at  the  corner 
of  the  street.  The  old  woman  rose  slowly 
from  her  chair,  and  began  to  bustle  about 
the  room,  gathering  dishes  together  in  a 
basket,  and  lifting  a  large  tin  coffee-pot 
from  the  hot  stove.  A  little  girl,  about  as 
old  as  Freddy,  had  started  when  she  had 
heard  the  knock,  and  a  gleam  of  pleasure 
lit  up  her  pale  face,  which  a  moment  before 
had  looked  as  though  it  never  could  smile. 
She  was  sewing  horn  buttons  on  to  coarse 
blue  shirts  by  the  dim  light  which  came 
from  the  window.  Her  dark  blue  eyes 


were  swollen  with  crying,  and  the  heavy 
lids  and  long  black  lashes  drooped  wearily 
over  them. 

The  old  woman,  after  much  clattering 
round  the  room,  turned  sharply  upon  her, 
and  asked  her  why  she  sat  there,  and  told 
her  to  get  up  at  once  and  carry  the  basket 
and  coffee-pot  upstairs.  The  little  girl  rose, 
and,  taking  the  heavy  basket  in  one  hand 
and  the  coffee-pot  in  the  other,  carried 
them  slowly  up  the  broken  stairs,  followed 
by  Sally,  who  scolded  her  all  the  way  for 
not  going  faster.  When  she  had  set  them 
down  on  the  table  in  the  men's  room,  Sally 
told  her  to  get  back  to  her  work.  Closing 
the  door  behind  her,  the  child  ran  quickly 
down  the  stairs,  and  reached  the  door  of 
the  house  just  as  Freddy  returned,  his  arms 
full  of  bundles,  from  the  store. 

"  Lisa,"  he  whispered  as  he  entered,  "  are 
you  there  ?" 

"  Oh,  yes,  yes,  Freddy  !  have  you  got  it  ? 
Give  it  to  me  quick,  or  she'll  come." 


IS  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


"  Here,"  said  Freddy,  handing  her  a  roll, 
"  here  it  is — eat  it  up.  I  'most  killed  my- 
self to-day  trying  to  hide  the  penny  for  it. 
Tonio  made  me  sing,  and  it  got  stuck  in 
my  throat.  If  I  hadn't  got  it  up,  you 
wouldn't  a-had  your  supper,  Lisa." 

"  Oh,  Freddy,  how  good  you  are  !"  cried 
the  little  girl  in  a  frightened  whisper,  eat- 
ing her  roll  voraciously. 

"  Well,  I  don't  know.  I  guess  Tonio 
wouldn't  think  so  if  he  knew  I  kept  a 
penny.  But  I've  a  right  to  it,  for  it's  my 
dancing  that  gets  it,  and  I  mean  to  bring 
you  a  roll  every  night,  Lisa,  for  you're 
'most  starved,  ain't  you  ?" 

"  Yes,"  said  Lisa,  faintly.  "  She  only  gives 
me  just  the  scraps  left  from  the  men's  meal's. 
Oh,  I  do  get  so  hungry!" 

"  Don't  you  have  coffee  ?"  asked  Freddy. 

"  Oh,  no,  never  !"  replied  the  child. 

Freddy  thought  for  a  moment,  and  then 
said,  "  I'll  tell  you  what,  Lisa  ;  I've  seen 
lots  of  old  tin  cans  lying  round  the  streets 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  19 


up-to\vn,  and  I'll  get  one  to-morrow  and 
hide  it  behind  the  door ;  then,  when  I  can, 
I'll  fill  it  with  coffee  for  you.  I  don't  mind 
going  without  once  in  a  while,  and  you 
look  out  sharp  the  first  thing  in  the  morn- 
ing, will  you  ?" 

"  Thank  you,  Freddy  ;  how  kind  you  are 
to  me.  Nobody  is  half  so  good  to  me  now 
as  you  are." 

"  Oh,  bother  your  good 7"  cried  Freddy. 
"  Maybe  I'll  want  it  all  myself,  after  all. 
But  you  look  out  for  it,  and  perhaps  you'll 
find  it,  and  perhaps  you  won't." 

With  these  words  Freddy  ran  off,  for  he 
dared  not  wait  longer ;  and  little  Lisa,  hav- 
ing finished  her  roll,  crept  softly  back  to 
the  room,  and  by  the  flickering  firelight 
began  her  weary  task  again  with  a  lighter 
heart — just  in  time,  for  an  instant  after  Sally 
entered  ;  and  it  was  well  for  Lisa  that  she 
was  in  her  place,  at  work. 


II. 


THE  next  day  Tonio  called  Tito  from 
his  adjoining  room  to  come  and  teach 
Freddy  a  song.  He  told  Freddy  he  must 
sing  as  well  as  dance,  and  to  hurry  up  and 
learn  how  to  do  it  properly.  "  Well,  then,  " 
said  Freddy  to  himself,  "  I  must  find  some 
other  way  to  hide  Lisa's  penny,  or  I  shall 
choke  to  death  some  day." 

He  had  a  quick  ear  for  music,  and  a  clear, 
sweet,  childish  yoice,  and  he  caught  several 
popular  melodies  quickly  after  hearing  Tito 
sing  them  ;  but  he  found  it  hard  to  remem- 
ber the  words. 

"  The  words  are  of  no  'count,"  said  Tito  ; 
"  slide  your  voice  along  when  you  forget 
them." 

Tito  was  an  Italian  boy,  who  sold  white 
mice  and  san  in  the  street.  He  had  been 


FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


in  America  ever  since  he  was  a  little  child, 
and  spoke  English  better  than  Italian.  He 
was  Freddy's  best  friend,  and  used  to  bring 
him  flowers  from  the  country  in  the  sum- 
mer, when  he  returned  from  his  long  expe- 
ditions. He  had  a  brother  whom  Freddy 
dreaded  to  meet,  he  was  so  tyrannical  and 
cruel,  but  Tito  never  allowed  him  to  beat 
Freddy  when  he  was  by. 

As  soon  as  the  song  was  learned,  Tonio 
shouldered  his  organ,  and,  with  Freddy  fol- 
lowing, set  off  on  his  day's  tramp.  Freddy 
picked  up  the  first  tin  tomato-can  he  saw 
lying  by  an  ash-barrel,  and  he  put  a  few 
stones  in  it,  and  walked  along  rattling  it, 
hoping  to  slip  a  penny  in  by-and-by,  when 
Tonio  was  not  looking,  and  so  deceive  him. 

They  had  not  much  luck  that  day.  No- 
body seemed  to  want  to  hear  the  music,  or 
to  see  the  dancing.  Many  a  time  they 
were  ordered  away  from  before  the  door  of 
some  house  where  they  had  taken  their 
stand.  "At  this  rate,  there  would  be  no 


22  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


chance  for  Lisa,"  Freddy  thought ;  and 
when  next  they  stopped  he  began  to  sing, 
hoping  to  attract  more  notice  by  doing  so. 
His  plan  seemed  to  succeed,  for  a  gentle- 
man, dressed  in  plain  dark  clothes,  stopped, 
turned  round  to  look  at  him,  went  on  a  few 
steps,  came  back,  and  stood  listening.  En- 
couraged by  this,  Freddy  sang  his  very 
best  and  his  voice  rang  out  clearly  on  the 
frosty  air.  The  gentleman  waited  till  he 
had  finished,  and  then,  taking  two  or  three 
cents  from  his  pocket,  handed  them  to  Fred- 
dy, saying,  at  the  same  time — 

"  Is  he  your  father?"  pointing  to  Tonio. 

"  No,"  answered  Freddy,  "  I  ain't  got  no 
father." 

"  Do  you  think  you  could  sing  well 
enough  to  join  a  choir  of  boys  and  chant  a 
Christmas  carol  in  church  ?"  asked  the  gen- 
tleman, who  was  the  young  rector  of  a 
neighboring  chapel.  Freddy  had  not  the 
least  idea  of  what  was  meant,  but  he  an- 
swered— 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  23 


"  I  can  sing  '  Not  for  Joe,'  if  you  like.". 

The  young  man  smiled  and  turned  to 
Tonio.  "  I'm  getting  up  some  music  for 
Christmas  ,"  said  he,  "  and  I  want  a  few  chil- 
dren's voices  in  the  choir.  Your  little  boy 
seems  to  have  a  good  voice.  Suppose  you 
send  him  round  to  me,  and  let  me  see  what 
I  can  do  with  him  ?" 

"What  can  you  do  for  him  ?"  asked  Tonio, 
wide-awake  as  to  the  business  part  of  the 
transaction,  which  the  other  evidently  had 
not  considered. 

"  Oh,"  said  he,  smiling,  "  I'll  make  that 
all  right." 

"  No,"  answered  Tonio,  "  he  can't  go, 
unless  you  pay  me  six  cents  for  every  hour 
he  stays  with  you,  and  I'll  lose  money  by 
that,"  he  grumbled. 

But  Freddy  knew  better.  They  had  not 
made  sixpence  that  day,  and  they  had  been 
out  many  hours. 

"  Well,  well,"  said  the  young  man,  "  I'll 
agree  to  that.  Send  him  round  to  me  at 


24  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


four  o'clock  this  afternoon;"  and  he  was 
hurrying  off  when  Freddy  called  out — 

"  Hold  on,  sir !     Where  am  I  to  go  ?" 

"  Oh,  to  be  sure !"  said  the  gentleman 
smiling ;  "  come  to  the  door  of  the  vestry 
room  belonging  to  the  church  on  the  next 
block.  Do  you  know  where  that  is  ?" 

"  Is  it  the  big  brown  stone  house  that 
rings  a  bell  in  its  loft?"  asked  Freddy. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  gentleman ;  "  I'll  meet 
you  there  at  four  o'clock  ;"  and  he  hurried 
off.  It  was  now  about  three  o'clock,  and 
Tonio  said  he  would  keep  near  the  church 
till  the  hour  had  passed ;  and  when  the 
right  time  came  he  told  him  to  go  where  he 
had  been  directed,  and  come  home  as  soon 
as  he  could  with  the  money.  So  Tonio 
went  off  with  the  organ  on  his  shoulder, 
walking  sWeways  down  the  street,  and 
Freddy  started  alone  in  the  direction  of  the 
church.  He  knew  the  building  when  he 
saw  it,  but  he  had  never  been  inside  of  a 
church  in  his  life,  and  had  not  the  least  idea 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  2$ 

of  what  it  was  like,  or  what  it  was  for.  He 
walked  round  and  round  it,  and  tried  to 
open  the  iron  gates. 

"  I  wonder  why  folks  will  keep  their  area 
gates  locked,"  said  he  to  himself.  "  That's 
a  stunning  big  house,  though  ;  but  I  don't 
see  no  bell  to  the  front-door.  How  do  they 
get  in  ?  If  I'd  a  long  rope,  now,  a-hangin ' 
to  that  big  bell  up  there,  I'd  pull  it  loud 
enough  for  them  !  " 

Saying  this,  Freddy  came  to  a  little  side- 
gate,  which  he  tried,  and  found  unfastened. 
Walking  up  the  narrow  flagged  walk,  he 
came  to  a  door  which  stood  ajar. 

"  I  guess  this  is  the  bestry  door,"  said  he 
to  himself;  "he  said  to  go  to  the  bestry 
door." 

Seeing  nobody,  he  advanced  a  few  steps, 
and  found  himself  in  a  high,  narrow  passage- 
way, with  a  red  baize  door  in  front  of  him, 
and  a  flight  of  stairs  at  his  side.  He  walked 
to  the  door  and  knocked,  but  his  little 
knuckles  made  no  sound  on  the  soft  materi- 
3 


26  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


al.  There  were  two  small  oval  glass  win- 
dows in  the  door,  but  they  were  much  high- 
er than  Freddy's  head.  He  knocked  again, 
and,  receiving  no  answer,  turned  to  the 
stairs. 

"  I  guess  I  ought  to  go  up  and  ring  the 
bell,  and  let  him  know  as  I'm  come,"  said  he, 
softly. 

His  little  bare  feet  made  no  noise  on  the 
cocoa  matting  with  which  the  floor  was  cov- 
ered, and,  although  Mr.  Browning,  the 
young  rector,  was  sitting  in  the  vestry  room 
at  that  moment,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
baize  door,  he  never  knew  that  Freddy  was 
at  hand.  The  hands  of  his  watch  pointed  to 
quarter  past  four,  and  he  began  to  get  im- 
patient. 

"  I  do  not  believe  that  little  fellow  will 
come  at  all,"  said  he  "  I  was  foolish  to  ex- 
pect it.  I'm  sorry,  too,  for  he  had  a  good 
voice.  Well !  I  must  give  it  up,  and  look 
more  systematically  for  a  choir,"  and  he 
took  his  hat  and  walked  toward  the  door. 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  2/ 

Just  as  he  opened  it  he  heard  the  church- 
bell  toll  one.  He  started,  and  hastily  looked 
at  his  watch  again.  It  surely  was  not  time 
for  any  service!  No,  evening  service  did 
not  begin  till  seven  o'clock.  What  was  the 
bell  ringing  for  ?  Again  it  tolled  one  and  then 
again,  more  feebly,  and  then  came  a  loud 
peal,  as  though  some  one  jerked  it  violently. 

Amazed  at  the  unusual  sound  at  such  an 
hour,  Mr.  Browning  stood,  hat  in  hand,  for 
a  moment,  and  then  ran  upstairs — up  and 
up,  and  up,  till  he  came  to  the  belfry,  where 
he  found  Freddy  hard  at  work.  He  had 
put  one  foot  in  a  loose  knot  of  a  long  rope 
that  hung  there,  and  had  taken  hold  of  the 
upper  portion  of  it  that  he  might  have  a 
firmer  hold,  for  he  was  not  strong  enough 
to  move  the  bell  with  his  hands  alone. 
With  every  pull  the  bell  rang,  and,  as  the 
rope  was  shortened  by  its  swinging,  up 
went  Freddy's  leg  with  a  jerk,  nearly  as  high 
as  his  head ;  but,  by  dint  of  clinging  to  the 
rope  with  both  hands,  he  managed  to  swing 


28  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


himself  off  the  floor,  and  his  weight  brought 
the  bell  down  again  with  another  jerk. 

"  What  are  you  doing,  child  ? "  gasped 
Mr.  Browning. 

"  Please,  sir,  I  knocked,  and  I  knocked, 
and  there  wasn't  no  bell  to  your  front  door, 
and  all  your  area  gates  was  locked,  and  I 
was  afraid  you'd  be  a  waitin '  for  me,  so  I 
rang  your  bell  to  let  you  know  as  I  was 
come.  But  it's  dreadful  hard  work,  sir." 

Mr.  Browning  could  not  help  laughing. 

"  You've  let  every  one  in  the  neighbor- 
hood know,  too,"  said  he,  as  Freddy  disen- 
gaged himself  from  the  rope  that  hung  to 
the  still  vibrating  bell.  "But  why  didn't 
you  come  right  through  the  red  door?"  he 
asked,  as  they  began  to  descend  the  stairs. 

"  I  didn't  know  as  they'd  let  me  in  with- 
out ringin',"  panted  Freddy,  quite  breath- 
less with  his  late  exertion. 

"Were  you  never  in  a  church  before?" 
asked  the  clergyman. 

"  No,"  said  Freddy.     "  What's  it  for  ?  " 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  29 


"  It  is  God's  house,"  said  Mr.  Browning, 
solemnly. 

"  It's  a  bustin'  big  one,  ain't  it  ? "  said 
Freddy,  with  wide  open  eyes,  as  he  follow- 
ed Mr.  Browning  through  the  door  into 
the  vestry  room. 

"  Is  God  rich?  " 

The  young  clergyman  turned  round  hast- 
ily, and  looked  keenly  into  Freddy's  face. 
He  thought  for  a  minute  that  he  had  to 
deal  with  a  sharp,  mischievous,  probably  a 
profane  boy  ;  but  the  innocent  look  of  won- 
der in  his  large  eyes  showed  him  that  he 
was  not.  A  little  New  York  heathen — that 
was  what  he  was !  A  poor,  neglected, 
ignorant  little  child ! 

"  What's  your  name  ?  "  said  Mr.  Brown- 
ing. 

"  Freddy." 

"  What's  your  other  name  ?  " 

"  Haven't  got  no  other  as  I  knows  on," 
answered  Freddy,  laughing,  and  showing 
a  glistening  row  of  white  teeth. 


3O  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


"  What  is  your  father's  name  ?  "  persisted 
Mr.  Browning. 

"  Haven't  got  no  father." 

"  Nor  mother?" 

"  No !     I  never  had  no  mother." 

"  Who  was  that  man  you  were  with  ?  " 

"  Oh,  that's  Tonio.  I  live  with  him.  He 
plays  on  the  organ,  and  I  dance  and  take 
the  money." 

11  Do  you  never  go  to  God's  house  on 
Sunday?" 

"No!  Guess  he  hasn't  got  no  houses 
down  to  where  I  live.  Never  asked  me  to 
come,  anyways,  and  nobody  never  took  me. 
Guess  he  don't  know  Tonio,  nor  none  of 
our  men,  for  /never  heard  of  him." 

Mr.  Browning  sat  down  in  his  large 
leather  chair  and  leaned  his  head  on  his 
hand.  He  was  a  young  man,  and  had  but 
lately  come  to  the  city  to  live.  This  was 
a  new  experience  to  him.  How  could  he 
teach  this  child  ?  Where  and  how  should 
he  begin  ? 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  31 


"  You  wanted  me  to  sing,  didn't  you  ?  " 
asked  Freddy,  after  a  pause. 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  Browning,  recollecting 
himself. 

Freddy  instantly  struck  up,  "  Not  for 
Joe,"  which  he  sung  in  a  spirited  way,  as 
taught  by  Tito. 

"  Hush  !  hush  !  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Brown- 
ing, hastily. 

Freddy  stopped  suddenly,  and  looked  up, 
rather  amazed,  into  his  patron's  face.  Tito 
had  said  that  everybody  would  like  that 
song. 

"  Don't  you  like  it,  sir?  I  can  sing 
'  Home,  Sweet  Home,'  if  you'd  rather,"  and 
he  began  that. 

Although  many  of  the  words  were  for- 
gotten, Freddy  sang  one  verse  of  the  sweet 
old  melody,  and  his  young  voice  rang 
clearly  and  sweetly  through  the  room,  with 
its  high,  arched  ceiling. 

"  Can  you  catch  a  tune  quickly  ?  "  asked 
Mr.  Browning,  thinking,  at  the  time,  how 


32  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 

pathetic  a  song  it  was  in  the  mouth  of  that 
poor  little  barefooted  wanderer. 

"  Guess  so,"  said  Freddy,  and  Mr.  Brown- 
ing, sitting  down  before  a  small  melodeon, 
played  a  simple  tune. 

Freddy  looked  with  wonder  at  this  per- 
formance. He  had  never  seen  any  musical 
instrument  like  this  before,  but  he  was  de- 
lighted with  the  sweet  sounds  that  issued 
from  it. 

"  That's  ever  so  much  nicer  than  Tonic's 
organ,"  said  he.  "  It's  not  so  Zanglcdy 
Zangledy" 

"  Well,  now  try  and  see  if  you  can  sing 
this,"  said  Mr.  Browning,  encouragingly, 
and  he  played  and  sang  a  verse  of  the 
Christmas  hymn. 

Freddy  listened,  and  very  soon  joined  in 
the  melody.  Mr.  Browning  looked  pleased. 

"  I  see  that  you  have  a  good  ear  for 
music,"  said  he  ;  "  would  you  like  to  come 
here  and  learn  with  a  few  other  children,  and 
then  sing  in  the  church  on  Christmas  Day  ?  " 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  33 


"I'd  just  as  soon,"  said  Freddy,  "If 
Tonio'll  let  me.  But  you'll  have  to  pay  him 
for  me,  and  you  must  let  me  out  in  time  to 
get  Lisa's  penny." 

This  had  to  be  explained  to  Mr.  Brown- 
ing, who  heard  from  Freddy  poor  little 
Lisa's  story.  She  had  been  brought  to 
Sally's  a  year  ago,  by  her  dying  mother. 
Sally  was  her  grandmother,  and  had  prom- 
ised to  take  care  of  her ;  but  she  made  her 
work  very  hard,  was  often  cruel  to  her,  and 
never  gave  her  enough  to  eat. 

"  Lisa  sings !  "  exclaimed  Freddy,  as  he 
finished  his  story.  "  If  you'll  pay  Sally  for 
her,  she  could  come  and  sing  'stead  of  me, 
and  maybe  you'd  find  her  something  to  eat 
once  in  a  while." 

Freddy's  black  eyes  sparkled  as  he  made 
this  little  plan  for  Lisa's  benefit.  It  would 
take  her  away  from  Sally  for  awhile,  at  any 
rate,  and  maybe  this  grand  gentleman 
would  give  her  a  penny  for  herself  some- 
times. 


34  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 

Mr.  Browning  said  he  would  go  and  see 
Sally,  and  ask  if  she  would  let  Lisa  come, 
but  that  he  should  want  Freddy  too. 

"  What  is't  all  for,  anyway  ? "  asked 
Freddy.  "  Is  the  singin'  for  God  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  replied  Mr.  Browning. 

"Will  he  be  here  next  time?"  said 
Freddy.  "  Lisa's  dreadful  ragged  and  dirty, 
and  so  am  I.  Maybe  he  won't  let  us  into 
his  big  house  when  he  sees  us." 

"  He  sees  you  now,  my  little  boy.  He 
made  you  and  Lisa,  and  everybody.  He 
made  the  world,  and  everything  that  is  in 
it." 

Freddy's  eyes  opened  widely,  and  Mr. 
Browning  went  on  to  tell  him  about  God. 
It  may  seem  a  very  strange  thing  to  chil- 
dren who  read  this  that  a  boy  of  nine  years 
old  had  never  heard  of  God,  but  Freddy 
had  nobody  to  teach  him.  He  listened 
eagerly  to  Mr.  Browning  as  he  told  him  the 
wonderful  story  of  God's  love  to  us,  of 
Christ's  birth,  of  his  thirty-three  years  of 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  35 


life  on  earth,  and  of  his  cruel  death  by  those 
he  had  come  to  save,  and  for  whom  he 
prayed  with  his  dying  breath. 

When  at  last  he  stopped  speaking  and 
looked  up,  there  sat  Freddy,  with  all  ten 
of  his  little  nuckles  dug  into  his  eyes,  trying 
to  keep  out,  or  wipe  away,  the  tears  that 
li'onld  come,  and  had  made  long  streaks 
down  his  dirty  little  face. 

"  Can't  help  crying,"  said  he,  with  a  sob : 
"  it  was  so  dreadful  good  of  Jesus  to  leave 
up  there,  and  come  and  be  cold  and  hungry. 
It  is  so  bad  to  be  cold,  sir.  Oh  !  you  don't 
know ;  and  Lisa  says  it's  worse  to  be 
hungry.  And  he  didn't  need  to  be,  either, 
but  just  'cause  he  loved  us, — it  were  dread- 
ful good  of  him.  Oh,  I'll  sing  real  loud,  I 
will,  if  you  think  he  likes  that  song  as  you 
sung !  " 

Mr.  Browning  thought  he  had  said 
enough  for  this  time,  and,  looking  at  his 
watch,  was  surprised  to  see  how  late  it  was. 

"  There,  there,"  said  he,  "  rim  home  now. 


36  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


Here's  your  money,  and  a  penny  for  Lisa. 
I'll  go  and  see  Sally,  and  you  must, both 
come  to-morrow  at  the  same  hour.  Don't 
forget  what  I  have  taught  you." 

"  No  sir  !"  called  back  Freddy,  who  had 
already  started  for  the  street.  "  I'll  be  sure 
to  learn  that  song  as  you  says  God  likes !  " 
and  away  he  ran,  singing,  down  the  frosty 
street,  rattling  his  money  in  his  tin  can  as 
an  accompaniment ;  and  as  Mr.  Browning 
stopped  to  lock  the  church  door  after  him, 
he  heard  his  clear,  childish  voice  in  the 
distance,  shouting  "  the  glad  tidings,"  as  he 
hastened  home  to  tell  all  to  Lisa,  and  give 
her  the  roll  and  coffee. 


III. 


B' 


know  how  to  make  any  tune  come," 
said  Lisa,  when  Freddy  told  her  about  his 
day's  adventure. 

It  was  late  in  the  evening,  and  the  two 
children  were  in  their  retreat  behind  the 
house-door,  where  Lisa  had  found  the  toma- 
to-can full  of  coffee,  and  where  Freddy  had 
joined  her,  bringing  the  roll  as  usual.  He 
had  talked  so  rapidly,  and  jumbled  every- 
thing together  in  such  a  way,  that  Lisa 
could  not  understand  at  all  what  he  was 
talking  about.  One  fact  alone  became  evi- 
dent to  her — that  Freddy  had  told  some- 
body she  could  sing,  and  that  this  somebody 
was  coming  to  see  Sally  and  ask  permis- 
sion to  have  her  do  so. 

4  (37) 


38  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


"  I  never  sang  in  all  my  life,  Freddy. 
How  come  you  to  say  I  could  ?" 

"  Oh  !  I  s'posed  you  could,  and  I  bet  you 
can.  It  '11  be  so  jolly  to  get  away  from  old 
Sally,  and  p'raps  you  '11  make  money  by  it," 
replied  Freddy. 

"  But  if  I  can't,  how  can  I?"  inquired 
Lisa,  with  a  perplexed  air. 

"  You  can,  I  tell  you — you  can.  I  '11  teach 
you  the  tune,  and  you  '11  learn  it  in  half  a 
shake." 

"  Will  it  grind  out  of  me,  like  out  of  an  or- 
gan? "  asked  Lisa,  hopefully. 

"  Oh  !  I  guess  so.  Why,  it 's  nothing  at 
all,  Lisa,  but  just  open  your  mouth  and  let 
it  come." 

Lisa  opened  her  mouth  wide.  "  Don't 
seem  as  if  'twould,"  said  she,  after  a  pause, 
during  which  Freddy  stood  gazing  down 
her  throat,  as  though  he  expected  to  see 
the  tune  there. 

"  But  you  do  n't  try,"  said  he,  impatient- 
ly. "  Make  a  noise  in  your  throat — kinder 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  39 

so,"  and  Freddy  sang  gayly.  "Why,  it 
just  sings  itself,"  said  he,  as  he  finished. 
"  Can't  you  let  the  sing  come  ?  " 

"  'Course  I'll  let  it,"  said  Lisa.  "  You  just 
tell  the  words,  and  p'raps  the  sing  will  come 
when  I  say  them." 

"  Shout  the  glad  tidings  !  "  sang  Freddy, 
half  shouting  the  words. 

"  Oh,  hush!"  cried  Lisa;  "Sally  will 
hear  you." 

"  Don't  care  if  she  do,"  replied  Freddy, 
stoutly. 

"  Oh !  but  /  care,  'cause  if  she  catches  me 
here,  she'll  beat  me,"  said  Lisa,  in  a  fright- 
ened voice. 

"  Well,  she  won't  catch  you.  It's  pay- 
day, and  she's  screwing  the  money  out  of 
the  men  upstairs.  She'll  be  busy  enough 
awhile  yet.  Now,  then,  try  again." 

"  Shout  the  glad  tidings,"  sang  Lisa,  in  a 
deep  voice,  all  on  one  note.  "  There, 
Freddy,  it  did  sing  that  time,  didn't  it  ?  " 
said  she,  joyfully. 


4O  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


"  Yes,"  answered  Freddy,  doubtfully, 
"  but  don't  make  such  a  roaring  noise  down 
low.  Put  your  voice  up  a  little  in  your 
throat,  kinder  sorter." 

Thus  exhorted,  Lisa  tried  again  ;  but  this 
time  she  squeaked  in  such  a  high  key  that 
Freddy  burst  out  laughing,  threw  himself, 
down  on  his  back,  kicked  his  feet  high  in 
the  air,  turned  a  somersault,  and  finally 
came  right  side  up  again.  Lisa  was  doubt- 
ful, for  a  moment,  whether  this  was  intend- 
ed as  a  compliment  to  her  performance,  or 
otherwise.  But  her  doubts  were  solved  by 
Freddy,  who  exclaimed,  in  a  choking 
voice :  "  Oh,  my  goody,  Lisa !  What  a 
screech  you  did  give !  "  And  off  he  went 
again,  shaking  and  shouting  with  laughter. 

"  Oh,  don't !  "  he  cried,  as  Lisa  began  to 
try  again.  "I'll  die  a-laughing.  Oh  dear! 
oh  dear !  oh,  my  goody  !  Can't  you  sing  no 
other  ways  than  that?  " 

"  Wasn't  that  good  ?  "  asked  Lisa,  eagerly. 
"  You  told  me  to  make  my  voice  go  high." 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  41 

"  Now  see  here,  Lisa,"  said  Freddy,  con- 
trolling his  laughter.  "  It  mustn't  be  all 
high,  nor  all  low  ;  half  of  each  like,  this  way. 
Now  try  again." 

"Shout  the  glad tidings"  sang  Lisa,  with 
two  grunts  and  two  squeaks. 

Off  went  Freddy  on  his  back  again,  roll- 
ing over  and  over,  in  a  spasm  of  laughter. 

"  Oh,  Lisa ! "  he  gasped,  as  soon  as  he 
could  speak,  "you'll  be  the  death  o' me. 
Oh,  my  goody  gracious !  "  and  he  wiped  his 
eyes  on  the  ragged  sleeve  of  his  jacket. 

"  Well  Freddy,  I  told  you  I  couldn't !  " 
said  poor  Lisa,  quite  discomfited  by  the 
effect  she  produced  on  her  audience.  "  You 
oughtn't  to  have  said  as  I  could.  Now  the 
gentleman  will  come,  and  Sally  '11  beat  me 
'cause  I  can't  sing." 

"  No,  she  won't,"  said  Freddy,  becom- 
ing sober  at  the  thought.  "  Don't  you  say 
one  word,  good  or  bad,  when  he  comes,  and 
he  won't  ever  think  to  ask  you,  'cause  I  said 
as  you  could  sing  lovely." 


42  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 

"  But  what'll  he  do  with  me  up  to  God's 
house  ?  Nobody'll  want  me  there  if  I  can't 
sing,"  and  the  tears  gathered  in  her  eyes. 
She  did  not  know,  in  the  least,  what  it  was 
that  she  was  required  to  do ;  but  the  prospect 
of  leaving  her  wretched  home,  for  even  a 
short  time,  was  an  agreeable  one  to  her,  and 
Freddy  had  hinted  at  some  unknown  good 
that  would  happen  by-and-by,  if  she  sang 
for  God. 

"  Never  you  mind,  Lisa,  I'll  sing  loud 
enough  for  both,"  said  Freddy.  "  I'll  shout 
and  yell  the  glad  tidings  so  they'll  all  think 
you're  singing,  too." 

"  Oh,  will  you,  Freddy?  "  said  Lisa,  grate- 
fully. "  Then  that'll  do  just  as  well,  won't  it  ?" 

"  I  bet  it  will,"  answered  Freddy,  his  con- 
fidence in  his  own  abilities  increasing,  as  he 
saw  Lisa's  deficiencies  in  this  respect. 

"  What  is  the  glad  tidings,  anyways  ?  " 
asked  she. 

"  Why,  just  what  I  told  you  first  of  all," 
answered  Freddy. 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  43 


"  But  I  didn't  know  what  you  was  talk- 
ing about,"  said  she. 

"  Well,  lemme  see,"  said  Freddy,  medita- 
tively. "  I  'most  forgot,  but  I  know  it  was 
something  mighty  good.  Oh,  yes ;  now  I 
know.  First  of  all,  Lisa,  most  folks  in  the 
world  is  horrid  wicked  bad." 

"  So  they  be,"  assented  Lisa,  in  a  tone  of 
conviction. 

"  Well,  an  '  so  when  they  die,  they've  all 
got  to  go  to  the  bad  place,"  continued 
Freddy. 

"  I  dessay,"  said  Lisa ;  "  but  I  don't  think 
that's  such  dreadful  glad  tidings,  'cause 
mebbe  we'll  have  to  go  'long  o'  the  rest." 

"  Well,  now,  it  don't  seem  as  if  I'd  hit  it 
just  right,"  said  Freddy,  with  a  puzzled 
air ;  "  'cause  it  did  seem  like  glad  tidings 
when  the  gentleum  was  a-talking.  I  must 
ha'  left  out  something.  Stop  a  bit,  till  I 
think.  Oh,  yes !  now  I  got  him !  Nobody 
need  to  go  there,  after  all — that's  it — you, 
nor  me,  nor  nobody  !  " 


44  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


"  Why  not?  "  asked  Lisa,  eagerly. 

"Why,* to  be  sure,  now,  that's  the  glad 
tidings ;  just  'cause  God  (that's  him  as  made 
us,  you  know — him  as  lives  up  to  the  sky), 
he  don't  want  us  to  go  there ;  he'd  rather 
we'd  come  to  live  with  him  up  to  the  sky." 

"Oh!  Freddy,  I  don't  b'lieve  it!  How'd 
we  ever  get  there?" 

"  Don't  know ;  but  we  would  if  he  said 
so.  He  can  do  anything  in  all  the  world 
he  likes." 

"Well,  I  don't  b'lieve  he'd  like  much  to 
have  you  an  '  me  up  to  his  place  in  our  dirty 
old  ragged  clothes." 

"  I  don't  know  ;  some  folks  ain't  so  petick- 
ler  about  dirt  as  you  be,  Lisa.  Now  I'd 
just  as  lieve  be  dirty  as  clean,  any  day," 
answered  Freddy. 

"  How  d'  you  know  he  wants  us  there, 
anyway?  "  inquired  Lisa,  waiving  the  ques- 
tion of  cleanliness. 

"  Why,  that  gentleum — Mr.  Browning 
his  name  is — he  said  so." 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  45 

"  How  does  he  know  ?  He's  never  been 
up  to  the  sky,  has  he  ? " 

"Why,  no,  you  goose!  but  I  guess  he 
knows  what  he's  talking  about,  mostly." 

"  Perhaps  he  just  made  it  up,"  said  Lisa. 

"  He  didn't,  either,"  answered  Freddy, 
indignantly.  (He  had  no  idea  of  being 
doubted,  even  when  he  told  wonderful 
stories.) 

"  Well,  I  wish  I  knew  all  he  said,  then," 
said  Lisa,  uneasily.  "  Tell  it  all  to  me, 
Freddy  ;  I  want  to  know  about  it." 

"  Well,  then,  don't  ask  me  so  many  ques- 
tions ;  you  don't  give  me  time  to  think ; 
girls  do  always  chatter  so  forever." 

Thus  rebuked,  Lisa  clapped  her  hand 
over  her  mouth,  and  sat  down  in  a  little 
heap,  her  knees  drawn  up  to  her  chin,  and 
closely  hugged  to  her  with  her  other  arm, 
waiting  patiently  to  hear  Freddy's  story, 
when  his  memory  should  be  sufficiently 
refreshed ;  to  which  end  he  scratched  his 
head  very  hard,  as  though  that  were  the 


46  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


most  effectual  method  of  polishing  his  wits ; 
then  he  drew  a  long  breath,  looked  medita- 
tively into  his  ragged  cap  for  a  moment, 
slapped  it  sideways  on  his  head,  and  began. 

"  Here's  how  it  is,  Lisa,  this  is  just  what 
that  gentleum  said :  and  now  don't  you  go 
and  put  in  your  word  all  the  way  along,  and 
make  me  forget  again." 

Lisa  shook  her  head  in  token  of  her  will- 
ingness to  maintain  unbroken  silence. 

"  Where  was  I  ?  how  far  had  I  got?"  in- 
quired Freddy. 

"  Where  God  was  a-going  to  take  us  up 
to  the  sky,"  answered  Lisa. 

"  Oh,  yes.  Well  now,  you  see,  that's 
'cause  he  loves  us ;  he  can't  bear  to  have 
anyone  go  to  the  bad  place  ;  and  Jesus,  that's 
his  son,  he  loves  us,  and  so  he  came  away 
down  out  of  heaven,  down  here,  for  to  say 
so.  That's  the  way  the  gentleum  knows  it. 
He  said  as  Jesus  made  himself  into  a  little 
weeny  teeny  baby,  just  like  any  other  baby, 
when  he  came,  instead  of  being  a  great  king, 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  47 

as  he  might  a-been  if  he'd  chosen,  you  know, 
'cause  all  the  whole  world  belonged  to  him." 

"What  did  he  do  that  for?"  asked  Lisa 
hastily,  and  instantly  clapped  her  hand 
over  her  mouth  again. 

"  Just  what  I  said !"  exclaimed  Freddy ; 
"  I  said  looker  here,  Mr.  Browning,  what 
made  him  come  so  ;  didn't  you  say  as  he 
could  do  whatever  he  liked  ?  '  Yes  '  says 
Mr.  Browning,  '  an'  he  liked  to  do  that,  so 
as  he  could  know  just  egzactly  how  every- 
body felt  that  lived  in  this  here  world.' " 

"  But  I  guess  he  didn't  know  how  it  felt 
to  be  cold  and  hungary  and  tired  all  the 
time,  as  we  be,  or  he  wouldn't  a-come  that 
way,"  exclaimed  Lisa. 

"  But  he  afcdTknow  !"  cried  Freddy ;  "  that's 
just  what  he  did  know.  He  growed  up  to 
be  a  man,  an'  he  was  real  poor,  and  he  didn't 
have  no  home  at  all,  but  just  went  round 
from  one  place  to  another,  making  folks  well 
that  was  sick.  Oh,  he  could  do  anything 
that  he  wanted  to.  And  for  all  that  the 


48  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


world  belonged  to  him  if  he'd  a  chosen  to 
take  it — all  the  ships,  all  the  shops,  all  the 
houses,  and  gold  and  silver,  and  everything, 
he  didn't  have  anything,  nor  care  for  any- 
thing, but  just  to  make  folks  good,  and  tell 
'em  about  God,  an'  how  he  loved  'em.  And 
I  asked  Mr.  Browning  was  he  ever  cold  and 
hungry,  and  he  said  '  Oh,  yes,  lots  and  lots 
o' times.'  So  you  see  he  did  know  just 
egzackly  how  we  feel,  and  he  must  ha' 
wanted  us  up  to  heaven  pretty  bad,  or  he 
wouldn't  a-done  it." 

u  Where  is  he  now?  "asked  Lisa. 

"  Gone  back  home  again,"  answered 
Freddy,  pointing  with  his  thumb  in  the 
direction  of  the  sky.  "  Some  of  the  horrid 
wicked  men  killed  him." 

"Killed him!"  cried  Lisa,  in  a  horrified  tone. 

"  Yes,  in  an  awful  bad  way,  too ;  they  ran 
nails  through  his  hand  and  feet,  and  hung 
him  up  on  a  thing  shaped  like  that  and 
Freddy  held  his  fingers  up  like  a  cross. 
How  it  must  have  hurt ;  just  think,  Lisa,  of 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  49 


being  hammered  up  with  nails  on  to  a  big 
tree,  and  hanging  and  hanging  there  till 
you  died." 

Lisa  shuddered.  "What  did  he  let  them  do 
it  for  ?  "  she  asked  in  a  low  tone.  "  If  he  could 
do  all  he  wanted  to,  why  didn't  he  kill  them  ?" 

"Then  they,d  all  have  gone  straight 
right  off  to  the  bad  place,"  said  Freddy. 

"An*  served  'em  right,"  answered  Lisa 
hotly. 

"  Yes,  but  you  see  he  didn't  want  to  leave 
'em,  and  he  loved  even  the  bad  men  who 
killed  him — he  loved  everybody  ;  an  '  what's 
more,  Mr.  Browning  said  that  he  wanted  to 
die  that  way,  'cause  if  he  did,  every  body 
that  loved  him  could  go  up  to  the  sky,  an ' 
so  he  let  em '  kill  him.  But  you  see  he 
made  himself  alive  again,  and  he's  went 
back  now  to  heaven  and  he,s  God,  and  he's 
going  to  let  us  all  go  live  with  him  some 
time  or  other,  if  we  love  him." 

"What  made  him  do  it  all,  I  wonder?" 
asked  Lisa. 
5 


5O  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


"  Just  'cause  he  loves  us,  I  tell  you." 

"  But  he  don't  love  you  an  me,  does  he, 
Freddy  ?" 

"  Yes,  he  do,  he  do,  too  ;  Mr.  Browning 
said  so— loves  us  ever  and  ever  so  much." 

"  Why,  we  never  did  nothing  for  him  ; 
what  makes  him  love  us  ?" 

"/  don't  know,  I'm  sure ;  I  shouldn't  think 
he  would  a  bit,  but  he  does,  and  that's  the 
glad  tidings." 

"  I  didn't  know  as  anybody  loved  me  any 
more,"  said  Lisa,  after  a  moment's  pause. 

"  Well,  he  do,"  asserted  Freddy. 

"  Nobody's  ever  loved  me  since  mother 
died,"  said  Lisa,  the  tears  gathering  in  her 
dark  blue  eyes.  Poor  child  !  she  had  good 
reason  to  think  so.  The  only  kind  words 
she  ever  heard  were  from  Freddy.  She 
was  thankful  to  escape  blows  from  Sally, 
and  her  wretched  life  was  fast  benumbing 
the  sensitive  feelings  that  were  natural  to 
her.  This  story  of  Freddy's  wakened  an 
old  feeling  in  her  heart — a  half-smothered 


FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


longing  for  love  that  had  lain  there  like  a 
dull  pain,  and  which  now  turned  into  a 
sharp  agony,  and,  clasping  both  her  hands 
over  her  heart,  she  sobbed  as  if  it  would 
break. 

"  What's  got  you,  Lisa,"  asked  Freddy, 
half  frightened. 

"  Don't  know,  oh,  I  don't  know  !"  sobbed 
she.  "  Oh,  Freddy,  nobody  don't  love  me, 
and  it  hurts  so  !" 

"  Yes,  they  do,"  said  Freddy.  "  I  love 
you.  Didn't  I  save  all  my  coffee  for  you, 
and  tell  you  all  'bout  the  glad  tidings,  and 
get  to  have  you  go  'long  o'  me  up  to  God's 
house,  'way  from  old  Sally?  Come  now, 
don't  cry  so  !  What's  the  use  ?  Get  over 
it !  We'll  both  on  us  go  to-morrow,  and 
mebbe  you'll  git  a  penny  all  to  yourself." 

Lisa  looked  up  gratefully,  but  could  not 
speak.  To  have  had  a  penny  of  her  own 
would  have  seemed  a  rich  prospect  a  little 
while  ago,  but  she  hardly  cared  for  it  now. 
She  felt  as  if  something  of  infinite  value 


52  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


had  been  offered  to  her,  but  she  did  not 
know  how  to  grasp  it.  Was  there  really 
anyone,  anywhere,  loving  her  ?  Was  there 
any  place  she  could  go  to,  that  would  be 
like  her  own  old  home,  where  she  was  so 
happy?  Freddy  seemed  to  be  sure  that 
Jesus  loved  her,  but  where  was  He  ? 
Heaven  was  a  great  way  off,  and  he  had 
gone  back  there.  How  could  she  let  Him 
know  that  she  wanted  to  go,  too  ? 

She  remembered  how  her  mother  had 
petted  her,  and  called  her  darling,  precious 
little  Lisa ;  she  wondered  if  Jesus  would 
love  her  that  way.  In  her  childish  way, 
she  wondered  why  she  suffered  so ;  why 
she  felt  so  wretched  since  Freddy  had  told 
his  glad  tidings.  She  did  not  know  that 
it  was  her  loving  nature  asserting  itself, 
after  long  repression,  that  caused  this  pain. 
It  was  like  the  physical  agony  of  a  half- 
frozen  traveler,  roused  by  warmth  to  life. 
She  longed  to  know  more,  to  be  very,  very 
sure  that  there  was  some  hope  of  love  and 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  53 


happiness  for  her.  But  Sally's  voice  was 
heard,  as  she  descended  the  stairs  to  her 
own  room,  and  in  an  instant  Lisa  sprang 
up,  and,  without  even  a  look  at  Freddy, 
ran  away  to  her  miserable  bed,  where  she 
was  lying,  apparently  in  a  deep  sleep,  when 
Sally  came  in. 

But  many  long  hours  passed  before  she 
slept  that  night.  Long  after  the  old  wo- 
man's snores  told  of  her  heavy  slumbers, 
Lisa  lay  with  her  eyes  fixed  on  the  starry 
sky,  wondering  what  heaven  was  like.  It 
must  be  very  bright,  she  thought,  if  so 
much  light  shone  through. 

One  star  shed  its  soft  beams  on  the  earth 
more  brightly  than  the  rest — perhaps  that 
was  the  place  where  Jesus  was.  He  loved 
her  !  This  thought  filled  her  poor,  lonely, 
aching  little  heart.  She  could  go  and  live 
up  there  with  Him,  Freddy  said,  if  she 
loved  Him.  Oh,  how  she  longed  to  go  ! 
But  the  bright  star  shone  on  steadily  and 
beautifully,  and  as  her  blue  eyes  slowly 


54  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


closed,  it  led  her  weary  little  heart  nearer 
and  nearer  to  Jesus  ;  and  so  He  gave  his 
beloved — sleep. 

True  to  his  promise,  Mr.  Browning  set  out 
the  next  day,  to  find  Old  Sally's  room,  and 
ask  for  Lisa.  But  this  was  a  much  more  diffi- 
cult matter  than  he  anticipated.  Freddy's 
directions  had  not  been  very  explicit,  in  the 
first  place,  and  when  Mr.  Browning  had 
managed  by  great  perseverance  to  find  the 
right  street,  he  was  puzzled  to  know  which 
of  the  many  houses  was  the  one  which 
Freddy  had  described,  when  he  said  : 

"  Oh,  you  can't  miss  it !  it's  got  a  door 
with  one  hinge  broke,  and  a  heap  of  ashes 
in  front.  The  steps  is  mostly  tumbling 
down,  too,  and  Tito's  got  a  great  big  cage 
hanging  out  a  winder,  with  his  mocking- 
bird in  it.  Leastways,  it  will  be  there,  if 
he  hasn't  took  it  in  by  the  time  you  come. 
But,  anyways,  you'll  know  the  house  when 
you  come  to  it ;  it's  red  brick,  and  the 
chimbleys  is  kinder  shaky  like." 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  55 

But,  unfortunately  for  Mr.  Browning-, 
Tito  had  "took  in"  the  mocking-bird, 
and  the  shaky  condition  of  the  door  and 
chimneys  was  by  no  means  peculiar  to 
one  house.  Ash-heaps  seemed  to  prevail 
greatly  throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  street,  and  rickety  steps  formed  an 
entrance  to  at  least  twenty  houses.  But  Mr. 
Browning  was  not  easily  daunted.  He  had 
been  interested  in  the  bright-eyed  boy  who 
had  sung-  so  well,  and  spoken  so  earnestly 
of  his  little  companion,  and  he  determined 
in  his  own  mind,  after  his  conversation  with 
Freddy,  that  if  it  were  a  possible  thing,  he 
would  reclaim  some  of  these  poor  ignorant 
children  from  the  heathen  darkness  in  which 
they  had  been  brought  up. 

But  his  patience  was  sorely  tried,  as  he 
went  groping  up  flight  after  flight  of  rick- 
ety stairs,  in  search  of  Sally's  room,  and 
descended  again  without  finding  her.  It 
was  a  difficult  matter  for  one,  unaccustom- 
ed to  it,  to  make  these  descents,  so  numer- 


56  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


ous  were  the  pit-falls,  in  the  shape  of  water- 
pails,  scrubbing-brushes,  flat-irons  and  coal- 
scuttles, with  which  the  stairs  were  strewn. 
He  was  just  about  to  give  it  up  in  despair, 
when  he  suddenly  encountered  Freddy  him- 
self, who  had  not  gone  out  on  his  day's 
tramp,  owing  to  Tonic's  illness.  He  had 
been  suddenly  seized  with  an  attack  on  his 
lungs  the  previous  night,  and  Freddy  was 
now  on  his  way  to  get  some  "  doctor's  stuff," 
at  the  nearest  druggist's,  as  he  told  Mr. 
Browning. 

"  I  knowed  you'd  come,"  said  he,  "  an' 
Lisa  she's  all  ready  for  you.  Old  Sally's 
a  tough  one,  I  te\\  you  ;  but  money  '11  fetch 
her." 

This  was  delivered  with  a  knowing  wink, 
intended  to  serve  as  encouragement  to  the 
clergyman,  who  was  yet  unacquainted  with 
Sally's  peculiarities  of  disposition. 

Mr.  Browning  followed  the  direction  of 
Freddy's  pointing  finger,  and  soon  knocked 
at  the  right  door.  There  was  a  sound  of 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  57 


rubbing  and  scrubbing  and  splashing,  but 
nobody  answered  his  repeated  knocks,  and 
at  last  he  opened  the  door.  A  dense  vapor 
filled  the  room,  rising  from  a  large  tin  boil- 
er on  the  stove,  and  from  an  iron  pot  where 
a  cabbage  was  cooking. 

Before  a  washtub  in  the  middle  of  the 
room,  with  her  back  to  Mr.  Browning, 
stood  Sally.  She  was  busily  employed 
washing,  and  was  bending  so  far  over,  or 
rather  into  her  tub,  that  little  was  visible 
of  her,  except  a  pair  of  black  worsted  legs,  in 
carpet  slippers,  and  a  blue  flannel  petti- 
coat. 

On  Mr.  Browning's  entrance,  the  legs 
wheeled  round  briskly,  and  a  large  frilled 
white  cap  and  pair  of  red,  bare  arms 
emerged  from  the  tub. 

"  G'long  !"  said  she.  "  Git  out !  G'way 
with  yer,  and  shut  that  there  door  behind 
yer !" 

This  was  not  a  flattering  reception  ;  in 
fact,  considering  the  trouble  Mr.  Browning 


58  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


had  taken  to  find  her,  it  might  be  consid- 
ered a  disappointment. 

"  G'long,  I  say  !  We  don't  want  none  o' 
yer  trax,  nor  yer  Bibles,  neither  !  Nor  yer 
company  !  Nor  yer  sarse  !  Git  out,  I  say  !': 
and  her  manner  became  more  and  more  ex- 
cited every  moment,  as  she  talked  herself 
into  a  fury. 

"  I'll  tell  ye  all  ye  want  to  know.  We 
don't  go  to  church,  nor  we  don't  mean  to  ; 
nor  we  ain't  none  on  us  baptized,  nor  we 
don't  mean  to  be — and,  if  yer  don't  clear 
out,  /'//  baptize  ye  with  a  bucket  o'  hot 
water !" 

Mr.  Browning  stood  aghast,  \vith  the 
door-latch  in  his  hand.  He  was  strongly 
tempted  to  clear  out,  as  Sally  advised,  but 
was  unwilling  to  beat  so  inglorious  a  re- 
treat. It  was  evident  she  took  him  for  a 
Bible-reader,  or  city  missionary,  and  equal- 
ly evident  that  as  such  he  would  not  be 
tolerated. 

"  But,  my  good  woman — "  he  began. 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  59 


"  None  o'  yer  good  womanings  to  me  !" 
she  cried,  in  a  loud,  high  voice  ;  "  I'll  show 
yer  the  sort  o'  good  woman  I  be  in  a  min- 
ute, if  yer  don't  clear  out !" 

"  Have  you  a  little  girl  here  named  Lisa  ?" 
he  asked  quickly,  retreating  a  step  as  Sally 
advanced. 

"  Yes,  I  have  ;  and  she's  the  plague  and 
torment  of  my  life.  What  do  yer  want 
with  her?" 

"  Will  you  hire  out  her  time  ?"  asked 
Mr.  Browning,  trying  to  choose  the  words 
that  would  make  the  quickest  impression. 

"  What  to  do  ?"  asked  Sally. 

"  To  sing,"  answered  Mr.  Browning. 
Now  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  the 
children  of  that  neighborhood  to  hire  them- 
selves out  to  strolling  bands  of  musicians, 
and  their  parents  often  received  quite  large 
sums  of  money  for  their  services,  and  Sally 
began  to  think  she  had  been  too  hasty  in 
denouncing  Mr.  Browning. 

"  If  ye  mean  business,  ye  may  wallc  in," 


60  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


said  she,  more  moderately,  wiping  a  stool 
with  her  wet  apron  for  him  to  sit  down 
upon. 

And  now  followed  a  long  discussion,  dur- 
ing which  Mr.  Browning  was  so  disgusted 
with  the  old  woman's  avarice  and  violence 
that  he  was  almost  resolved  to  let  the  whole 
plan  go,  and  he  would  have  taken  his  de- 
parture had  he  not  caught  sight  of  Lisa's 
pale  little  face.  There  was  a  longing,  wist- 
ful look  in  her  eyes  which  touched  his 
heart.  He  thought  she  looked  like  some 
little,  gentle,  hunted  animal,  and  he  sighed 
as  he  thought  what  her  life  must  be  with 
this  dreadful  old  woman.  So  he  yielded  to 
the  exorbitant  price  which  Sally  set  on  her 
services,  and  the  arrangement  was  con- 
cluded after  much  debate. 

Lisa's  eyes  lit  up  with  a  sudden  joy  ;  but 
when  Mr.  Browning  turned  toward  her  she 
ran  swiftly  out  of  the  room,  fearing  that  he 
would  ask  her  to  sing,  and  knowing  that 
her  only  safety  lay  in  flight.  She  ran  down- 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  6l 


stairs  into  the  yard  and  hid  behind  the 
pump,  where  she  remained  trembling  till 
Mr.  Browning,  drawing  freer  breath,  de- 
scended the  creaking  stairs,  and  passed  into 
the  street. 

6 


IV. 


""]" TALLOA,  Sally!"  cried  Freddy,  ar- 

JLJL  riving  at  the  top  of  the  stairs  in  a 
breathless  condition,  owing  to  the  rate  at 
which  he  had  run  to  the  druggist's  and 
back,  in  hopes  of  hearing  a  portion  of  the 
interview  between  her  and  Mr.  Browning. 
"  Halloa !  Are  you  going  to  let  Lisa  come 
with  me  to-day  to  sing  ?" 

"  She  may  go  where  she  likes,"  muttered 
Sally,  "  'long  as  she  brings  me  money.  But, 
mind  ye  !  I'll  know  if  a  single  penny's  miss- 
ing, an'  if  it  is  " — Sally's  raised  fist  finished 
her  sentence  for  her. 

Lisa  shrank  back,  cowing,  but  Freddy 
seemed  to  consider  this  brutal  permission 
the  climax  of  his  hopes. 

"  Of  all  the  girls  in  our  town,  there's  none 
o'  them  up  to  Sally,"  he  sang,  executing  a 
(62) 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  63 


dance  of  triumph  in  the  middle  of  the  floor. 
"  Give  us  a  bit  o'  soap,  Sally,"  said  he  ; 
"  we're  going  among  folks,  an'  got  to  scrub ;" 
and  he  took  a  piece  that  lay  by  the  tub. 
Sally  made  no  objection,  and  Freddy,  call- 
ing to  Lisa  to  follow,  ran  down  to  the  pump 
in  the  yard,  and  began  vigorously  to  work 
its  handle. 

"  Hold  your  head  under,  Lisa — so — now 
just  keep  still  a  minute," — and  he  gave  her 
such  a  showering,  that  before  the  minute 
was  over  she  looked  like  a  little  drowned 
mouse.  "  That's  right,"  said  he,  "  scrub 
away ;  feels  awful  cold,  don't  it  ?  Never 
mind — now  you  pump  for  me." 

"  F-f-f-f-f-f-reddy,  d-d-d-d-d-don't  p-p-p-p- 
pump  s-so  hard,"  exclaimed  Lisa,  with  chat- 
tering teeth,  as  she  withdrew  her  head. 

Freddy's  energy  had  nearly  taken  away 
her  breath,  but  she  took  her  place  at  the 
handle,  and  he  was  soon  sputtering  and 
chattering  at  a  great  rate,  but  still  bravely 
resolved  to  "scrub  up  for  folks." 


64  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


Pump-water  in  November  is  apt  to  be 
cold.  You  may  try  it,  if  you  don't  believe 
it,  and  see  what  you  think  about  it.  Freddy 
did  not  often  venture  his  precious  head  un- 
der that  spout,  but  this  was  a  great  occa- 
sion, and  he  felt  that  it  demanded  a  toilet. 
He  produced  a  rough  crash  towel  on  which 
he  and  Lisa  rubbed  and  scrubbed  all  the 
dirt  off  their  faces,  and  all  the  soap  into 
their  eyes,  at  which  point  Freddy  stopped 
and  began  a  vigorous  attack  on  "his  hair  with 
a  small  wooden  pocket-comb,  which  he  had 
once  found  in  the  street,  and  which  was  re- 
served more  for  ornament  than  use  among 
his  chief  treasures.  When  every  hair  stood 
on  end  on  his  head,  and  Lisa's  short  curls 
shone  with  the  unusual  friction,  he  declared 
they  did  look  lovely. 

"  Come  on,  now,  let's  run,  and  that'll 
warm  us  better  nor  blankets,"  said  he,  and 
off  they  started. 

The  clock  was  striking  four  as  the  two 
children  presented  themselves  at  the  door 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  65 


of  the  chapel.  Freddy  assumed  all  the  air 
of  a  complete  man  of  the  world  and  per- 
fectly at  home  in  all  its  ways,  and  thor- 
oughly acquainted  with  men  and  manners. 
He  saw  that  Lisa  regarded  him  as  an  oracle, 
and  considered  him  an  embodiment  of  all 
wisdom  and  knowledge  under  the  sun.  He 
determined  to  preserve  her  respect,  and  in 
patronizing  tone  said,  "  Come  on,  Lisa ! 
Don't  be  scared !  I  know  the  way.  That's 
the  stairs  up  to  the  bell ;  this  is  the  door  we 
go  in  at." 

"  Is  the  bell  hung  up  near  the  sky  for  God 
to  hear  when  folks  want  to  get  into  heaven  ?" 
asked  Lisa. 

"  I  'spose  so,"  answered  Freddy,  hurry- 
ing along  to  avoid  any  more  questions.  It 
would  not  do  to  admit  that  there  were  any 
subjects  on  which  he  was  ignorant.  But 
she  dragged  back  a  little. 

"  Let's  go  ring  it  then,"  said  she.  But 
Freddy  pulled  her  forward,  and  pushed 
open  the  baize  door.  Mr.  Browning  was 
6* 


66  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 

• 

in  the  room,  and  several  children  were  also 
there. 

"  Here  we  are,  sir,"  said  Freddy,  "  and 
here's  Lisa  ;  I've  taught  her  the  tune,  an' 
she's  bound  to  sing  it  most  lovely." 

Lisa  squeezed  his  hand  as  a  sign  to  say 
nothing  about  her  singing.  Mr.  Browning 
welcomed  them  both  kindly,  and  said,  as 
they  knew  the  tune,  he  would  teach  them 
the  words  before  they  sang  all  together. 
So  he  arranged  the  children  in  a  row  be- 
fore him,  and  told  them  to  repeat  the  lines 
after  him.  The  six  children  who  were  in 
the  room  when  Freddy  and  Lisa  entered, 
were  from  a  neighboring  institution,  where 
they  had  been  carefully  drilled  to  recite  to- 
gether at  the  same  moment  and  in  the  same 
key.  The  instant  Mr.  Browning  finished 
reading  two  lines,  they  began,  and  in  clear 
tones  echoed  his  words  with  precision,  as  a 
clock  sometimes  suddenly  strikes  loudly  and 
as  suddenly  stops. 

"  Oh,    my  goody !"    exclaimed    Freddy, 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  67 

taken  by  surprise,  looking  along  the  line  of 
children,  who  stood  motionless,  with  their 
hands  tightly  folded  under  their  blue  check 
aprons. 

"  I  don't  think  you  repeated  the  words," 
said  Mr.  Browning  ;  "  I  want  you  to  learn 
them  perfectly — now  try  again,"  and  again 
he  repeated  the  lines. 

Lisa  listened  eagerly,  and  gathered  cour- 
age to  say  what  she  remembered  of  them 
in  a  very  low  voice,  but  checked  herself,  as 
the  six  children  suddenly  concluded  while 
she  was  but  halfway  through.  Not  a  word 
had  Freddy  said.  He  was  absorbed  in 
watching  the  others,  looking  at  them  before 
and  behind,  as  though  searching  for  some- 
thing. He  evidently  thought  they  were  set 
off  like  machinery,  or  pulled,  like  Tito's 
puppets,  by  a  concealed  wire  or  string.  He 
stood  balancing  on  his  toes,  his  eyes  fixed 
on  their  mouths,  and,  as  they  all  shut  with 
a  snap  at  the  same  moment,  he  drew  a  long 
breath. 


68  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


"  Well,  I  never  !"  said  he,  lost  in  wonder. 
Again  and  again  Mr.  Browning  repeated 
the  hymn,  till  even  little  Lisa  had  learned 
it ;  but  the  mechanical  precision  of  the  six 
perfectly  overcame  Freddy,  and  paralyzed 
him  for  the  time.  He  could  do  nothing  but 
watch  them,  starting  when  they  began,  and 
gasping  as  they  concluded. 

"  But,  Freddy,  you'll  learn  nothing  this 
way,"  said  Mr.  Browning,  smiling.  "  I 
want  you  to  learn  the  words  perfectly." 

"  I'll  sing  for  you,  sir,  all  you  want,"  an- 
swered Freddy  ;  "  but  I  can't  fire  away  as 
them  fellows  do — not  if  I  was  to  live  a  hun- 
dred years,  sir.  But  never  you  mind  about 
the  words  ;  I'll  make  'em  up  as  I  go  along, 
if  I  don't  know  'em." 

Mr.  Browning  tried  to  show  him  that  the 
beauty  of  the  hymn  lay  in  the  words  ;  but 
Freddy,  although  he  assented  respectfully, 
evidently  continued  to  think  that  the  words 
were  of  "  no  'count."  But  when  Mr.  Brown- 
ing explained  their  meaning,  and  told  in 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  69 


simple  language  the  message  of  peace  and 
good-will,  how  greedily  little  Lisa  listened, 
how  she  hastened  to  accept  it !  Her  blue 
eyes  had  a  happy  light,  such  as  Freddy  had 
never  seen  there  before. 

"  How  nice  she  do  look,"  said  he  to  him- 
self. "  It's  all  the  soap  she  rubbed  into  her 
eyes  that  makes  'em  so  bright." 

Lisa,  however,  kept  perfectly  silent ;  and 
Mr.  Browning,  weary  at  last  of  the  mono- 
tonous chanting  of  the  six  children,  and  of 
Freddy's  stupidity  about  the  words,  began 
to  think  that  teaching  was  hard  work.  Lit- 
tle did  he  guess  the  effect  that  his  instruc- 
tions had  on  the  quiet,  timid  little  girl  be- 
fore him.  But  the  singing  now  began,  and 
Freddy  was  once  more  self-assured.  His 
fresh,  sweet  voice  rose  clearly,  and  soared 
far  above  the  dull  steady  grind  that  the 
others  kept  up,  but  no  sound  came  from 
Lisa's  lips. 

"  I  don't  hear  you,"  said  Mr.  Browning  ; 
"  sing  louder."  And  every  few  moments  he 


7<D  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


would  turn  to  look  at  her,  and  say,  "  Louder! 
louder  I" 

At  last,  goaded  to  desperation,  Lisa,  in 
a  rash  moment,  attempted  to  sing.  Mr. 
Browning  faltered,  stopped,  listened,  re- 
commenced, then  stopped  altogether. 

"  I  thought  you  told  me  she  could  sing," 
said  he  to  Freddy. 

"  So  she  can  ;  so  she  do."  said  Freddy, 
boldly.  But  Mr.  Browning  shook  his  head. 

Lisa  burst  into  tears.  In  her  imagination 
she  saw  herself  shut  out  from  all  the  hap- 
piness that  she  had  so  longed  for.  All 
chance  was  over,  she  thought,  of  hearing 
about  who  it  was  that  loved  her — all  possi- 
ble hope  of  ever  reaching  Him,  gone  ;  no- 
thing left  for  her  but  Sally  and  her  wretched 
home,  more  wretched  now  than  ever,  since 
the  gleam  of  light  had  only  served  to  show 
her  its  misery.  Freddy  saw  her  crying, 
and  his  black  eyes  glowed  as  he  said : 

"  It's  no  matter  if  she  do,  or  if  she  don't. 
I  said  she  could  sing,  an'  I  s'posed  she  could : 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  71 

an'  when  she  said  she  couldn't,  I  said  as  I'd 
sing  loud  enough  for  both,  an'  so  I  did,  an' 
most  split  myself  in  two  doin'  of  it." 

Mr.  Browning  looked  from  one  to  the 
other  in  amazement. 

"  But  your  singing  won't  do  for  her"  he 
said.  "  If  she  can't  sing,  what  is  the  use  in 
her  trying  to?" 

"  I  said  so,"  whispered  Lisa  between  her 
sobs.  "  I  said  nobody  would  want  me  up 
to  God's  house  if  I  couldn't  sing." 

"  Now,  I'll  tell  you  what,"  said  Freddy, 
with  the  air  of  one  about  to  confer  an  im- 
mense favor  on  Mr.  Browning.  "  Here's 
how  we'll  fix  it !  I'll  sing,  an'  them  six 
reg'lar  stunners  will  fire  away,  an'  Lisa, 
she'll  hand  round  the  hat." 

This  was  in  accordance  with  the  street-, 
band  regulations,  and  Freddy  saw  no  rea- 
son for  any  objection  on  Mr.  Browning's 
part ;  he  was  vexed,  therefore,  to  see  that 
he  still  remained  unconvinced.  "  Well, 
then,  give  her  a  triangle,  or  a  tambourine, 


72  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


an'  I  bet  she'll  play  on  it  lovely.  Well, 
then,"  he  continued,  seeing  in  Mr.  Brown- 
ing's face  that  his  plan  did  not  suit,  "  if  you 
don't  think  that's  doing  enough  for  her 
money,  she'll  stand  by  me  an'  tell  me  the 
words.  Why,  goody  me !  I  couldn't  re- 
member half  them  words,  so  I  couldn't ;  so, 
now,  that's  how  we'll  fix  it."  Freddy  spoke 
decidedly,  as  one  who  saw  his  advantage, 
and  meant  to  assert  himself. 

Lisa  looked  up  timidly,  but  hopefully. 
This  was  something  she  could  do. 

"Why  do  you  want  to  come  so  very 
much  ?"  asked  Mr.  Browning. 

"  'Cause  Sally  will  beat  her  if  she  don't 
bring  the  money  now,"  said  Freddy. 

"  Is  that  it  ?"  asked  Mr.  Browning,  seeing 
•  still  another  reason  in  Lisa's  face. 

"  She'll  beat  me  sure !"  said  the  little 
girl ;  then  hesitated,  and,  with  a  strange 
mixture  of  timidity  and  eagerness,  she  said  : 

"  I  wanted  to  know  about  Him  that  loves 
me  up  to  the  sky.  I  want  to  go  to  Him, 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  73 


'cause  nobody  loves  me  here  but  Freddy 
Please,  sir,  if  I  can't  sing  won't  He  love  me 
no  more  ?" 

Mr.  Browning  was  startled  by  the  ex- 
pression of  the  pale,  thin  face  raised  to  his. 
In  it  was  all  the  trusting  innocence  of  a 
child,  all  the  misery  of  a  loving  nature 
rudely  repulsed.  Already  her  wretched 
life  had  written  deep,  sad  lines  on  the  little 
face  that  should  have  been  so  fair,  for  Lisa's 
was  a  nature  that  grew  old  with  every  wild 
heart-beat  more  rapidly  than  by  the  lagging 
years.  On  the  answqgto  that  question  lay 
her  future.  If  there  was  love  for  her,  she 
could  live  ;  if  not,  she  must  die,  slowly,  but 
surely,  through  long  years  of  reckless  sin 
and  misery.  No  wonder  that  Mr.  Brown- 
ing, reading  something  of  all  this  in  those 
earnest  eyes,  paused  for  one  startled  mo- 
ment, and  then  replied : 

"  No,  little  Lisa,  you  need  not  be  afraid 
of  that.  You  are  loved  with  an  everlasting 
love.  God,  who  made  you,  did  not  choose 
7 


74  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


that  you  should  sing,  but  He  loves  you 
dearly,  and  when  you  go  to  Him  you  will 
sing  His  praises  forever." 

"  Oh,  Freddy !"  cried  Lisa,  in  a  joyful 
voice,  "  let's  run  an'  ring  the  bell,  an'  tell 
Him  I'm  all  ready,  an'  waiting  for  to  come 


in: 


At  this  the  largest  of  the  six  boys  burst 
out  laughing,  and  stared  at  Lisa,  and  the 
others  joined  him,  and  giggled  derisively. 

"  You  shut  up,"  said  Freddy,  fiercely, 
"or  I'll  give  you  something  to  laugh  at 
wrong  side  o'  your  mouth,"  and  he  ad- 
vanced in  a  threatening  attitude. 

"None  of  this!"  said  Mr.  Browning. 
"I'll  have  no  quarreling  here." 

"  Well,  then,  just  let  that  fellow  stop  his 
jeerin'  Lisa." 

"  I  weren't  a  jeerin',"  said  the  boy,  be- 
ginning to  whimper.  But  Mr.  Browning 
would  not  listen  to  a  word  from  either,  and 
made  them  all  sing  again. 

Peace,   however,  was    not    so  easily  re- 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  75 


stored,  for  as  soon  as  Mr.  Browning's  back 
was  turned,  the  big  boy  advanced  toward 
Freddy  and  began  a  series  of  whispered 
taunts,  till  at  last  Freddy,  roused  to  ven- 
geance, turned  suddenly  upon  him,  when 
he  shrank  behind  the  others,  and  made  hor- 
rible faces  at  Lisa. 

"  If  I  can't  lick  you,  I'll  make  mouths  at 
your  sister,"  he  whispered  fiercely. 

Freddy  only  nodded  his  head  in  a  men- 
acing way,  as  much  as  to  say  that  a  day  of 
vengeance  would  soon  arrive  ;  but  he  kept 
on  singing  the  words  of  peace  and  good- 
will, as  though  there  were  nothing  else  to 
think  of.  Mr.  Browning  believed  that  the 
trouble  was  over,  and  a  few  minutes  after 
the  class  was  dismissed. 

Mr.  Browning  detained  Lisa  for  a  few 
words  of  comfort.  He  told  her  she  should 
come  every  day  with  Freddy,  and  take  back 
the  money  to  Sally,  but  she  must  not  sing. 
She  was  to  prompt  Freddy,  when  he  forgot 
the  words.  Then  Mr.  Browning  explained 


76  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


to  her  very  kindly  that  she  must  wait  God's 
time  before  she  could  leave  this  world,  but 
Lisa  thought  she  could  wait  and  be  happy 
now  that  she  was  sure  of  love. 

Very  fearlessly,  very  trustingly,  this  little 
ignorant  girl  received  the  glad  tidings. 
Many  and  many  a  child  listened  that  Christ- 
mas to  the  wonderful  story  with  dull,  indif- 
ferent ears,  or  heard  it  with  a  momentary 
interest,  and  then  forgot  it  in  the  merry 
Christmas  frolics  ;  but  the  Star  of  Bethle- 
hem led  this  little  wanderer  to  her  Saviour's 
feet,  and  who  shall  doubt  that  the  gratitude 
of  her  simple  heart  was  acceptable  in  His 
sight  ? 

Little  did  Freddy  know  of  what  was  pass- 
ing in  her  heart,  as  the  two  children  walked 
down  the  street.  He  was  looking  behind 
every  tree-box,  peeping  round  the  corners 
of  the  streets,  bracing  himself  for  a  contest 
with  the  boy  who  had  laughed  at  Lisa. 

"  He's  sure  to  be  round  somewheres, 
Lisn  !"  said  he,  "  and  I  couldn't  cat  my  sup- 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  77 


per  till  I'd  whopped  him.  No  !  he  daren't 
show  himself!  But  just  you  let  me  know 
if  ever  he  laughs  at  you  again,  an'  I  bet 
he'll  never  do  it  but  once  more." 

Lisa  thought  Freddy  the  bravest  boy  in 
the  world,  but  secretly  hoped  the  fight  might 
not  come  off,  and  it  did  not,  as  the  boy  had 
been  marched  off  in  a  procession  to  the  In- 
stitution, where  he  meditated  slyly  on  future 
mischiefs  to  be  done  to  Freddy  when  he  got 
the  opportunity. 
7* 


V. 


CHRISTMAS  had  come  and  gone,  and 
V^many  weeks  passed  since  the  children 
had  gone  to  the  up-to\vn  chapel.  They 
had  been  well  paid,  and  the  hymns  and 
carols  had  been  well  sung,  and  now  it  was 
all  over,  and  there  were  no  more  expe- 
ditions together  for  Freddy  and  Lisa.  Mr. 
Browning  asked  them  to  corne,  whenever 
they  could,  to  see  him  ;  but  Sally  had  no 
idea  of  letting  Lisa  go  unless  she  was  paid 
for  her  time ;  and  Freddy  was  how  fully 
occupied. 

Tonio  had  never  recovered  from  his  ill- 
ness ;  he  kept  growing  weaker  and  weaker, 
and  was  now  quite  unable  to  lift  his  heavy 
organ.  He  would  sit  wearily  over  the  fire 
for  hours  at  a  time,  or  sometimes  walk  to 
the  side  of  the  room  where  the  organ  was 
kept  and  turn  the  handle  for  a  few  minutes, 
(78) 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  79 

but  the  tune  was  never  played  through  ;  he 
would  soon  let  it  die  out,  and  then  return  to 
his  seat  by  the  fire.  It  was  on  one  of  these 
occasions  Freddy  noticed  that  he  dropped 
his  head  on  his  hands,  and  shivered. 

"  Tired,  Tonio  ?  "  he  asked,  in  a  sympa- 
thetic voice. 

Tonio  nodded, without  speaking. 

"  He's  too  much  for  you  now-a-days,  ain't 
he  ?  "  said  Freddy,  alluding  to  the  organ. 

Tonio  grunted  an  assent. 

"  What  we  going  to  do,  anyways,  Tonio 
— the  money  is  'most  gone,  you  know  ?  " 

To  this,  Tonio  made  no  reply  whatever ; 
but  Freddy  continued  the  conversation 
undauntedly : 

"  Pity,  now  I'm  such  a  little  chap.  I'd 
back  him  an'  I'd  grind  him,  but  he's  an 
awful  heavy  fellow,  he  is — I  couldn't  rise 
him  up  an'  do  my  big  best.  Tell  you  what, 
Tonio!  Just  you  trade  him  off  for  a  fiddle, 
an'  teach  me  how  to  fiddle,  an'  I'll  fetch  in 
the  money  splendid." 


So  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


Tonio  seemed  to  listen,  and  Freddy  con- 
tinued : 

"  Give  me  a  fiddle  an'  a  bow,  an'  I'll  make 
your  fortune,  I  will.  Can,  too!  Dollar  a 
day,  sure  !  What  d'  you  say  ?  " 

Tonio  groaned.  "  I  suppose  I've  got  to 
come  to  it,"  said  he,  slowly,  with  a  look  at 
his  neglected  organ.  "I'll  never  play  it 
again,  my  strength  is  all  gone.  I'll  never 
be  strong  again."  And  he  turned  his  thin 
hands  over  and  over,  looking  at  them  sor- 
rowfully, and  then  dropped  his  head  on 
them  again. 

"  Oh !  now  don't  take  on,  Tonio ;  you'll 
be  all  right  when  the  spring  comes  an'  the 
sun  shines.  Maybe  you  ain't  a-takin'  the 
right  physic.  I  didn't  know  what  sort  to 
get,  an'  so  I  took  the  biggest  bottle  with  the 
brightest  paper  round  it ;  but  goody  me ! 
there's  a  lot  more  bottles  you  haven't  tried 
yet — 'nuff  to  cure  a  million  men,  I  guess. 
I'll  go  get  one  of  'em,  an'  you'll  be  up  an' 
about  in  no  time." 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  8 1 


But,  on  looking  into  the  small,  greasy  bag 
in  which  the  money  was  kept,  Freddy  found 
that  only  enough  remained  for  the  week's 
rent,  and  for  a  few  more  meals.  This  was  a 
very  depressing  state  of  affairs  ;  for  Freddy 
knew  that,  just  as  soon  as  they  were  unable 
to  pay  for  what  they  had,  the  men  in  the 
room  would  insist  on  their  leaving.  Their 
rules  were  strict — prompt  pay  and  no  trust 
— and  Tonio  and  Freddy  knew  what  to 
expect.  They  would  be  obliged  to  go,  and 
then  what  would  become  of  them  ?  No  one 
would  take  them  in  without  money  paid 
down. 

"  Now,  you  see,  Tonio,  all  you  can  do  is 
to  get  a  fiddle  for  me,"  said  Freddy,  as  the 
first  feeling  of  dismay  passed.  "  I'll  bring 
you  all  the  money,  and  we'll  live  here  same 
as  ever ;  you  shall  have  physic — new  bottle 
once  a  week;  pills,  if  you'd  rather;  take 
your  choice ;  I'll  pay  for  'em  ;  I'll  haul  in 
the  money,  I  tell  you!  "  And  Freddy  seized 
an  old  poker,  and  went  through  the  motions 


82  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


of  violin  playing,  squeaking  his  voice  to 
represent  the  instrument,  and  then  dancing 
around  the  room,  presenting  his  cap  to 
imaginary  listeners,  and  finally  carrying  it 
carefully  with  both  hands,  as  though  it  con- 
tained an  immense  weight  of  money. 

Tonio  smiled — a  weary  sick  man's  smile — 
but  it  flitted  over  his  thin  face,  and  was  gone 
in  a  moment.  Turning  hastily  to  Freddy, 
who  was  at  that  moment  balancing  the 
poker  on  his  chin,  he  told  him  to  turn  the 
handle  of  the  organ  as  long  as  he  could. 
Tonio  listened,  while  Freddy  labored  away, 
beating  time  feebly  with  his  fingers,  and 
watching  with  interest  as  he  changed  the 
tune.  At  last,  Freddy  declared  that  he  was 
tired  out,  in  token  of  which  he  threw  him- 
self flat  on  his  back,  and  remained  stiff  and 
motionless,  merely  winking  one  eye  terribly 
at  Tonio. 

"  Clean  gone,  and  killed  with  hard  work." 
said  he  ;  "  but  give  me  a  fiddle  an'  I'll  " — he 
did  not  finish  his  sentence  in  words,  but  the 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  83 


surprising  number  of  leaps  and  springs  he 
gave,  showed  the  reviving  effect  the  fiddle 
would  produce  on  him. 

"  Go  away,  now  and  send  Tito's  father 
here,"  said  Tonio,  "and  you  go  where  you 
like,  and  don't  come  back  till  evening." 

Freddy,  nothing  loth,  attended  to  his 
errand,  and  then  strolled  off  to  pick  up  any 
chance  job  that  came  in  his  way.  He  did 
not  return  till  evening,  but  he  brought 
Lisa's  roll  which  he  had  purchased  with  a 
cent  given  him  by  a  lady,  for  whom  he  had 
picked  up  a  bundle.  To  his  great  joy,  he 
found  Tonio  seated  with  a  violin  on  his  lap, 
and  the  organ  had  gone.  The  money-bag 
was  nearly  full  again,  and  Freddy  loudly 
applauded  Tonic's  decision.  It  was  evident 
that  Tito's  father  had  conducted  the  bargain 
in  his  own  way ;  but,  though  the  violin  was 
very  old  and  poor,  Freddy  looked  at  it  with 
rapture,  and  Tonio  said  it  was  good  enough 
for  him. 

"  Good  enough  !    Its  splendid.     Aha,  my 


84  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


boys,  wait  a  bit !  You'll  hear  music !  "  said 
Freddy,  addressing  an  imaginary  public. 

It  was  time  that  this  purchase  was  made ; 
for  that  night  Tonio's  cough  kept  many  of 
the  men  awake.  The  next  day  they  declar- 
ed they  could  stand  it  no  longer,  and  that 
he  must  leave,  and  find  a  place  to  sleep 
elsewhere. 

Tonio  was  very  weak,  even  more  so  than 
usual ;  and  Freddy  wondered  how  he  could 
ever  walk  in  the  icy  streets,  trying  to  find  a 
room.  He  proposed  that  they  should  apply 
to  Sally  for  the  use  of  a  small  room  at  the 
top  of  the  house,  under  the  roof.  Tonio 
agreed ;  and  Freddy  entered  into  negotia- 
tions with  the  old  woman,  who  drove  a  hard 
bargain  with  the  child  for  the  miserable 
shelter.  He  was  to  pay  a  certain  sum  in 
advance,  and  give  her  half  of  all  he  earned 
every  day.  In  addition  to  this,  he  was  to 
bring  all  the  water  from  the  pump  that  she 
needed,  cut  all  the  firewood,  and  make  the 
fire  regularly  every  morning.  On  no  other 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  85 


condition  would  she  consent  to  rent  her 
attic,  and  Freddy  was  obliged  to  accept 
these  terms. 

No  sooner  was  Tonio  fairly  established  in 
his  new  quarters  than  he  went  to  bed,  worn 
out,  and  Freddy  had  to  wait  many  hours 
for  his  first  lesson.  He  had  watched  Tito 
play  on  his  violin  so  often,  that  he  soon 
learned  how  to  handle  his  bow,  and  after  a 
few  days'  practice,  Tonio  thought  he  was 
able  to  make  his  first  attempt  in  the  streets. 
He  had  learned  three  tunes  from  Tonio ; 
and  though  it  was  hard  for  a  listener  to  say 
which  was  which,  as  Freddy  performed 
them,  still  he  seemed  to  know,  and  was  per- 
fectly delighted  with  his  own  success,  and 
confident  that  no  one  could  resist  such 
music. 

"  Folks  won't  stand  but  two  tunes  at  a 
time,"  said  Tonio;  "but  it's  well  to  know 
three  in  case  children  listen.  Always  play 
for  children — they're  the  best  pay." 

A  fourth  tune,  which  Tonio  now  taught 
8 


86  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


him,  was  the  most  dismal  thing  Freddy  had 
ever  listened  to. 

"  That's  to  play  where  sick  people  are," 
said  Tonio.  "  You  must  watch  the  doctor's 
gigs,  and  where  you  see  them  stop  often, 
go  and  play  this,  as  loud  as  you  can." 

"  Won't  it  make  'em  feel  kinder  worse  ?  " 
asked  Freddy. 

"  Yes,  it  will  make  them  feel  a  great  deal 
worse,"  said  Tonio. 

"  It's  a  horrid  ugly  tune  ;  I'd  rather  play 
something  lively  to  cheer  'em  up  like,"  said 
Freddy. 

"  Humph,"  said  Tonio.  "  Much  they 
care  for  your  music.  You  do  what  I  tell 
you,  and  play  hard  till  they  pay  you  to  go 
away." 

Freddy  did  not  like  this  advice,  and  he 
thought  it  would  be  a  terrible  thing  if  Tito 
should  take  it  into  his  head  to  come  and 
play  near  Tonio's  door  till  he  was  paid  to 
go  away. 

"  I'd  either  have  to  thrash  him  or  pay 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  8/ 


him,"  thought  Freddy  ;  "  and  most  likely 
he'd  thrash  me." 

So  he  inwardly  hoped  that  the  suggestion 
was  one  merely  acted  upon  by  Tonio,  and  not 
generally  known  to  the  musical  brotherhood. 

And  now  began  stirring  times  for  Fred- 
dy. The  cold  winter's  dawn  saw  him  strug- 
gling with  heavy  water-pails,  chopping  wood 
and  making  fires.  Sally's  work  done,  he 
would  get  Tonio's  breakfast.  They  still 
paid,  and  eat  with  the  men  as  before ;  but 
Freddy  had  to  carry  Tonio's  coffee  to  him 
now,  as  he  could  no  longer  go  up  and  down 
the  steep  stairs.  As  soon  as  he  could  get 
away,  he  would  go  out  for  the  day,  with 
his  fiddle  closely  hugged  to  him,  and  make 
his  way  up-town  to  the  handsome  houses 
where  the  rosy  children  lived.  And,  oh,  it 
was  bitterly  cold  ! 

While  he  was  playing,  he  kept  rubbing 
one  foot  and  leg  against  the  other  to  try 
and  warm  them,  and  blowing  on  his  numb 
fingers,  to  enable  him  to  hold  his  fiddle  and 


FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


bow.  Once  in  awhile,  he  would  ask  the 
servants  of  a  house  to  let  him  come  in  and 
warm  himself  at  the  kitchen  fire.  Some- 
times they  would  consent,  and  he  would  sit 
by  the  great  range,  and  watch  the  quanti- 
ties of  saucepans  and  kettles,  and  smell  the 
savory  odor  of  the  soups  and  meats  ;  and 
then  when  he  went  back  to  the  streets,  he 
would  feel  colder  than  before,  and  wish  he 
had  not  gone  in. 

"  But  the  smell  was  something,"  he  said 
to  himself;  and  he  always  played  his  live- 
liest tune  for  the  servants,  and  sometimes 
danced  for  them,  and  was  so  cheerful  and 
merry  that  at  last  he  became  quite  a  favor- 
ite in  certain  houses,  and  was  welcome  to 
come  in  and  warm  his  frozen  hands  when 
they  refused  to  hold  the  bow  any  longer. 
Sometimes  the  children  would  be  in  the 
kitchen,  and  they  were  always  delighted 
with  his  music  and  his  singing,  and  saved 
many  a  penny  for  Fiddling  Freddy,  as  they 
soon  learned  to  call  him. 


FIDDLING    FREDDY.  89 


Often  the  servants,  as  they  became  better 
acquainted,  would  send  him  on  errands. 
The  cook  would  discover,  in  the  midst  of 
her  hurry,  that  the  butcher  had  forgotten 
something,  and  she  would  give  Freddy  a 
big  piece  of  bread  and  butter  for  running 
to  bring  it  from  the  market  for  her.  The 
housemaid  would  not  want  to  go  out  in  the 
cold  for  a  spool  of  thread  or  a  roll  of  tape, 
for  which  she  had  been  sent,  and  she  would 
employ  Freddy  to  run  around  the  corner 
and  get  it,  and  gave  him  a  penny  for  his 
trouble.  And  sometimes  he  made  money 
by  playing  at  the  railroad  depots  and  steam- 
boat landings.  Good-natured  old  ladies 
and  young  mothers,  with  little  ones,  who 
laughed  at  the  odd  capers  of  Freddy's  wild 
dance,  would  give  him  money  ;  and  other 
mothers,  who  had  watched  the  light  fade 
and  die  in  eyes  as  bright  as  Freddy's,  would 
drop  a  five-cent  piece  quickly  in  his  ragged 
cap,  and  hastily  pull  down  their  vails. 

In  one  way  and  another,  he  managed  to 


QO  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


scrape  together  quite  a  nice  little  sum. 
His  errand  business  prospered  finely  :  after 
awhile,  and  when  it  was  seen  that  he  was 
honest,  and  brought  the  right  change  home, 
the  servants  forgot  to  keep  his  fiddle  as  se- 
curity during  his  absence,  as  they  did  at 
first.  Some  days  he  would  bring  as  much 
as  a  dollar  to  Tonio  ;  then  again  he  would 
have  poor  luck,  and  only  get  fifty  cents,  or 
maybe  less  ;  but  whatever  the  sum  was,  he 
always  reserved  Lisa's  penny,  and  bought 
her  roll. 

As  the  winter  wore  on,  he  became  very 
tired  of  the  tunes  he  played ;  they  were  very 
monotonous,  notwithstanding  the  flourishes 
he  contrived  to  throw  in.  He  had  become 
quite  expert  in  playing  on  his  fiddle,  and 
he  would  listen  to  every  whistling  boy  or 
strolling  band,  and  catch  the  tunes  they 
played,  and  then  reproduced  them  in  his 
own  fashion.  He  never  played  the  dismal 
tune,  except  when  hard  pushed  by  hunger 
or  cold ;  it  was  always  sure  to  bring  money, 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  9! 


for  nobody  could  stand  it  long,  and  would 
pay  quickly  to  be  rid  of  it.  But  Freddy 
never  liked  to  do  this,  and  only  had  re- 
course to  it  when  times  were  very  bad. 

The  cold  weather  seemed  to  make  a  great 
many  people  cross  ;  they  would  not  stop  to 
listen,  as  they  hurried  along  with  their 
hands  in  their  pockets,  and  their  shoulders 
shrugged  up  almost  to  their  ears.  But 
Freddy  always  looked  on  the  bright  side. 

"  They'll  like  it  better  when  the  spring 
comes,"  he  thought,  and  he  began  to  re- 
volve a  plan  in  his  mind  by  which  he  might 
still  increase  his  little  earnings. 

"  Folks  want  their  shoes  blacked  if  'tis 
cold,"  said  he  ;  and  he  asked  Tonio  to  let 
him  buy  a  box  of  blacking  and  brushes. 
But  Tonio  would  not  consent  to  the  out- 
lay ;  he  said  Freddy  would  do  better  if  he 
kept  to  one  thing.  But  Freddy  thought 
he  could  do  both,  it  was  not  much  trouble 
to  carry  his  box  over  his  shoulder,  and  he 
could  lay  it  down  beside  him  while  he 


Q2  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


played.  Then  if  nobody  wanted  music,  he 
could  black  their  boots.  He  had  learned 
how  to  do  this,  for  many  a  time  he  had 
helped  the  waiter,  in  one  of  the  houses 
where  he  was  employed  as  errand-boy. 
He  consulted  the  waiter  himself  on  this 
point,  who  thought  it  an  excellent  idea,  and 
gave  him  sixpence  to  begin  with.  He  ad- 
vised him  to  ring  at  the  front-door  bells, 
and  ask  the  gentlemen  inside  if  they  would 
lend  him  enough  money  to  buy  the  neces- 
sary articles,  and  let  him  pay  them  by 
blacking  their  boots  every  morning.  So 
Freddy  acted  on  this  suggestion,  and  bold- 
ly rang  at  a  door  and  asked  to  see  the  gen- 
tleman who  lived  there. 

"  Is  it  important  for  you  to  see  him  ?" 
asked  the  girl  who  opened  the  door  ;  "  be- 
cause he  is  very  busy,  and  I  don't  like  to 
disturb  him." 

"  Oh,  yes,  it's  very  important,"  said  Fred- 
dy ;  and  the  girl,  thinking  perhaps  he  knew 
of  a  dog  that  her  master  had  lost  and  ad- 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  93 


vertised,  went  to  the  dining-room  to  call 
him.  When  he  appeared,  Freddy  made  him 
a  bow,  as  well  as  he  knew  how,  by  bobbing 
his  head  suddenly,  and  throwing  his  left  leg 
back  with  a  jerk. 

"Well,  what  do  you  want?"  asked  the 
gentleman ;  "  have  you  come  to  tell  me 
about  my  dog  ?" 

"  Dog  ?"  said  Freddy  ;  "  I  haven't  got  no 
dog." 

"  But  you  know  where  he  is !"  said  the 
gentleman  ;  "  and  if  you  tell  me  truly,  you'll 
get  five  dollars." 

"  Five  dollars  for  a  dog!"  exclaimed  Fred- 
dy, in  wonder  ;  he  knew  of  lots  of  dogs  that 
he  could  get  for  nothing — miserable  prowl- 
ing curs  that  roamed  through  the  streets  at 
night.  The  idea  of  getting  five  dollars  for 
a  dog  was  astonishing  to  Freddy,  who  did 
not  in  the  least  understand  that  it  was  only 
for  his  own  particular  dog  that  the  gentle- 
man offered  a  reward. 

"  Come,  now !"  said  the  gentleman.  "  don't 


94  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


keep  me  waiting.  Tell  me  where  he  is, 
or  go  and  bring  him,  and  you'll  get  your 
money." 

"  Why,  that'll  be  more  than  enough  to 
get  my  blacking-box,  won't  it  ?"  said  Fred- 
dy, delighted. 

"  Are  you  going  to  set  up  in  the  black- 
ing business  ?"  asked  the  gentleman. 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  be,  leastways  if  any  one  will 
lend  me  the  money,  an'  I'll  work  it  out. 
I'll  shine  them  boots  o'  yours  splendid 
every  morning,  sir,  if  you'll  let  me  have 
the  money.  But  I  won't  need  to  ask  it  if 
you  give  me  five  dollars  for  a  dog.  I'll 
get  you  one  in  less  than  no  time  ;  just  let 
me  run  to  the  butcher's  for  a  bit  of  meat, 
an'  I'll  have  a  dog  here  in  less  than  an  hour, 
I  bet." 

Freddy's  black  eyes  shone  with  impa- 
tience to  be  off.  Already  in  his  imagina- 
tion saw  himself  established  in  a  flourishing 
blacking  business. 

"  Why,  you're  a  precious  young  rascal," 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  95 


said  the  gentleman,  suddenly  ;  "  you  needn't 
try  any  dodge  on  me.  I'll  have  my  own 
dog,  and  no  other.  What  do  you  mean  by 
talking  so  ?" 

"  Didn't  you  say  as  you  wanted  a  dog  ?" 
asked  Freddy,  somewhat  startled. 

"  Yes  !  I  said  I  wanted  my  dog,  my  black 
Newfoundland,  that  I  lost  yesterday,  and 
offered  a  reward  for  in  the  morning  pa- 
pers." 

"  Well,  I  ain't  got  him  !"  exclaimed  Fred- 
dy, in  intense  surprise  ;  he  did  not  know 
that  the  girl  had  said  there  was  a  boy  wait- 
ing to  see  her  master  in  reference  to  his 
dog. 

"  Then  go  about  your  business  !"  said  he, 
angrily.  "  What  do  you  mean  by  disturb- 
ing me  for  nothing  ?" 

Freddy  was  so  astonished  by  the  sudden 
change  of  affairs  that  he  stood  speechless, 
his  eyes  and  mouth  open,  staring  hard  at 
the  angry  gentleman. 

"  Simpleton  !"   said   he,  "  what  are  you 


96  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


staring  at  ?  The  boy's  a  fool,"  he  mutter- 
ed, as  he  turned  away. 

"  Now,  look'ee  here  !"  cried  Freddy.  "  I 
didn't  call  you  no  names,  an'  you've  no 
right  to  call  me  none.  You  said  dog,  an' 
I  said  dog.  I  ain't  a  simpleton,  nor  yet  a 
fool.  I  said  I'd  get  you  a  dog,  an'  then  you 
got  mad  ;  /  don't  know  why — I  never  did 
nothing  to  you." 

But  Freddy's  explanation  was  cut  short 
by  the  gentleman,  who  took  him  by  the 
shoulders,  pushed  him  violently  through 
the  door,  and  then  slammed  and  locked  it. 
Freddy's  blood  boiled.  He  fairly  danced 
on  the  doorstep  with  rage.  Conscious  of 
no  offence,  he  could  not  understand  what 
he  had  done  to  make  the  gentleman  so  an- 
gry. He  felt  as  if  he  could  scream  with 
indignation.  What  had  he  done  to  be  treat- 
ed so?  Stooping  down,  he  put  his  mouth 
to  the  keyhole. 

"  Pepper-pot !"  he  cried,  in  a  high  key. 
"Old  Pepper-pot!  Simpleton  yourself! 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  97 


Say  it  again,  will  you,  Old  Snappin- tur- 
tle ?" 

Fortunately  for  Freddy,  the  inner  door 
was  closed,  and  these  complimentary  re- 
marks could  not  be  heard  in  the  house. 
When  he  had  exhausted  his  breath,  and 
worked  off  most  of  his  excitement,  he 
slowly  descended  the  steps.  His  anger  had 
made  him  weaker  than  many  a  long  day's 
tramp.  His  feelings  had  been  wrought  to 
a  high  pitch,  first  by  the  prospect  of  so 
much  wealth,  then  by  the  sudden  disap- 
pointment, and  finally  by  the  ignominious 
way  in  which  he  had  been  turned  out  when 
he  tried  to  vindicate  himself.  He  sat  down 
on  the  opposite  door-step  and  shook  his  fist 
violently  at  the  unoffending  front-door. 

"  I'll  fix  you  yet,"  said  he.  "  I'll  find  out 
your  dinner-hour,  an'  I  bet-  I'll  give  you 
that  there  tune  loud  and  hard." 

A  burst  of  childish  tears  relieved  him  at 
this  crisis,  and  Freddy  walked  away  with  a 
sadder  heart  than  he  had  felt  for  many  a 
9 


98  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


day.  He  had  scarcely  courage  enough  to 
ask  for  money  elsewhere  that  day.  He 
looked  upon  his  first  experiment  as  a  fail- 
ure. But  after  a  few  hours  he  became  more 
cheerful,  and  forgot  his  sorrows  completely, 
when  one  of  the  rosy  children  ran  out  from 
a  house  before  which  he  played,  and  gave 
him  a  ten-cent  piece. 

"  I  saved  it  for  you,  out  of  my  money- 
box," said  she.  "  Please  to  sing  for  me  and 
dance."  And  she  ran  in  hastily  out  of  the 
cold,  while  Freddy  sang  and  danced  with  re- 
newed spirits  at  this  piece  of  good  fortune. 


VI. 


had  not  a  malicious  nature, 
-L  though  it  was  quickly  roused  to  an- 
ger. I  am  not  holding  up  my  little  hero 
as  an  example  in  any  way  to  my  readers. 
They  must  remember  that  he  was  a  poor, 
ignorant,  neglected  child. 

He  had  naturally  a  warm,  loving  dispo- 
sition, but  he  knew  nothing  of  the  virtue 
of  self-restraint,  and  when  he  was  excited 
he  spoke  angrily,  almost  fiercely.  He  was 
always  ready  for  a  fight.  Poor  little  fellow ! 
he  had  been  thrashed  by  the  big  boys  in 
his  neighborhood  ever  since  he  could  recol- 
lect anything,  and  now  that  he  was  older 
he  thought  it  was  the  only  way  to  settle 
difficulties ;  and  the  result  was,  that  he 
often  gave  and  received  black  eyes  and 
sore  bones. 

(99) 


100  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 

Do  you  know  any  little  well-taught  boys 
who  do  the  same  ?  I  have  met  a  few.  They 
seem  to  forget  that  "  he  that  is  slow  to  an- 
ger is  better  than  the  mighty  ;  and  he  that 
ruleth  his  spirit,  than  he  that  taketh  a  city." 
Or,  if  they  don't  forget  it,  they  don't  believe 
it.  "  Pshaw  !"  they  say,  "  the  right  way  is 
to  pitch  in  and  let  fly,  and  show  fellows  you 
know  how  to  handle  them,  and  then  they'll 
let  you  alone." 

Well,  now,  I  have  my  own  private  opin- 
ion about  this.  I  know  that,  as  long  as  you 
live,  you'll  find  some  fellows  who  wont  let 
you  alone.  What  are  you  going  to  do  about 
it  then  ?  Shall  you  go  through  the  world 
with  a  shillaleh  and  a  cowskin,whack,whack, 
swish,  swish  ?  No,  for  policemen  and  po- 
lite society  do  not  allow  such  proceedings, 
and,  moreover,  black  eyes  are  not  becom- 
ing when  permanently  worn,  and  sore  bones 
are  not  comfortable — as  a  steady  thing. 

Well,  then,  you  see,  since  you  have  got 
to  learn  to  control  yourselves,  you  might  as 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  IOI 


well  begin  early  and  acquire  the  habit  of 
slowness  to  anger.  I'll  tell  you  what  I  would 
do  if  I  was  a  boy. 

In  the  first  place,  I'd  try  not  to  get  angry, 
of  course  ;  but  if  I  found  that  I  couldn't 
help  it,  I  would  just  go  away  off  by  myself 
and  hit  from  the  shoulder  as  hard  as  I  could 
go  it  for  a  few  minutes  till  I  felt  better — 
only  in  the  air,  you  know,  or  into  a  sand- 
bag, or  a  sofa-cushion.  There  is  a  much 
better  way  yet — but  I  must  stop,  or  some 
boy  will  slam  down  the  book  and  say, 
"  Now,  if  old  Neil  is  going  to  preach,  I  just 
won't  stand  it ;"  so  I'll  go  on  with  my  story. 

Freddy  did  not  know  who  it  was  that 
said,  "  Love  your  enemies ;"  he  did  not 
even  know  that  such  words  had  ever  been 
spoken.  But,  as  I  said,  he  had  a  generous, 
forgiving  nature,  not  a  sulky,  mean,  re- 
vengeful one.  So  he  soon  forgot  to  be  an- 
gry at  the  gentleman  who  had  been  so  un- 
kind to  him,  and  he  never  carried  out  his 
plan  of  vengeance  after  all. 
9* 


IO2  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


He  was  passing  by  the  house  some  days 
after,  when  he  saw  a  chubby  little  boy, 
about  four  years  old,  flattening  his  very 
small  nose  against  the  window-pane.  He 
had  curly,  golden  hair  falling  round  his  fat, 
white  shoulders. 

When  he  saw  Freddy's  fiddle  he  began 
to  laugh,  and  called  out,  "  Turn  and  p'ay 
for  me,  turn  and  fiddy  for  me."  His  nurse, 
who  was  with  him,  beckoned  to  Freddy  to 
play.  For  a  moment  he  thought  he  would 
not ;  he  would  rather  go  without  his  cent 
than  do  anything  for  anybody  in  that  house, 
he  thought.  Then  the  idea  occurred  to  him 
that  he  could  play  that  horrible  tune  that 
made  even  the  dogs  howl.  But,  looking  at 
that  sunny  little  face  dancing  up  and  down 
before  the  window,  he  felt  that  he  could  not 
do  it,  and  he  did  not  want  to,  either.  So 
he  stopped  in  front  of  the  house,  screwed 
up  two  or  three  keys  of  his  fiddle,  tucked  it 
into  his  neck,  and  played  his  prettiest,  mer- 
riest airs. 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  IO3 


And  the  little  boy  jumped  up  and  down 
on  the  soft,  springy  window  seat,  and  laugh- 
ed and  shouted  and  clapped  his  hands  joy- 
fully. Freddy  laughed,  too,  and  soon  be- 
gan to  dance  ;  and  the  little  fellow  inside 
fairly  screamed  with  delight,  and  put  his 
rosy  lips  close  to  the  window-pane,  and 
kissed  it,  instead  of  Freddy,  as  he  meant 
to.  When  the  dance  was  over  Freddy  held 
his  cap  under  the  window.  It  was  a  broad, 
low  window,  through  which  he  could  see 
all  the  room,  with  its  cheerful  crimson  fur- 
niture and  the  bright  coal  fire  glowing  in 
the  grate. 

Freddy  saw  the  nurse  lean  back  from  her 
chair,  take  a  silver  portemonnaie  from  a 
pretty  work-stand,  an.d  take  out  a  cent,  as 
he  supposed,  which  she  threw  to  him,  hast- 
ily shutting  the  window  for  fear  the  cold 
air  might  chill  the  little  boy.  Freddy  bow- 
ed and  walked  away,  but  had  not  gone  far 
when  he  saw  that,  instead  of  a  cent,  the 
nurse  had  given  him  a  gold  piece.  He 


104  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


stopped  and  stared  at  it.  He  had  never 
seen  a  coin  like  it  but  once  in  Tonio's  bag, 
and  did  not  know  its  worth,  although  he 
knew  it  was  much  more  than  a  cent. 

"  I  wonder  if  she  meant  to  give  it  to  me," 
he  said  ;  "  I  guess  she  thought  it  was  a 
penny."  He  turned  it  over  and  over  in  his 
dirty  little  brown  hands. 

"  How  bright  it  is  !"  said  he.  "  I  guess 
it's  enough  to  buy  a  blacking-box.  I'll  go 
see  ;  and  if  'tis,  I'll  get  one  and  say  nothing 
'bout  it  to  Tonio.  When  he  sees  me  fetch- 
ing in  the  money  for  shining  the  boots,  he'll 
be  glad  I  did  it." 

As  Freddy  stood  absorbed  in  the  contem- 
plation of  his  treasure,  he  was  startled  by 
a  hand  laid  on  his  shoulder.  Looking  up, 
he  saw  Mr.  Browning  smiling  at  him. 

"  What  have  you  got  there  that  you  are 
talking  to,  Freddy?"  he  asked,  pleasantly. 

Freddy  held  up  the  gold  coin.  "  I  don't  just 
know  myself,"  said  he.  "  It's  money  that  was 
give  me  for  playing;  what's  it  worth,  sir?" 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  10$ 


"  Why,  Freddy,  that's  worth  two  dollars 
and  a-half— two  hundred  and  fifty  cents." 

"  Whew  !"  whistled  Freddy  shrilly,  cut- 
ting a  caper  ;  "  never  had  so  much  in  all 
my  life  !" 

"  But  who  gave  it  to  you  ?"  asked  Mr. 
Browning. 

Freddy  told  him  all  about  it,  and  also  re- 
lated the  unkind  treatment  he  had  received 
at  the  same  house  a  few  days  before. 

Mr.  Browning  listened  patiently  to  the 
long  story,  and  then  said,  "  I'm  afraid  you 
ought  not  to  keep  the  gold  piece,  Freddy." 

"  Why,  it  was  given  me  !"  he  exclaimed. 

"  I  know  it,  but  it  was  given  in  mistake." 
•"  But  I've  nothing  to  do  with  that,"  said 
Freddy,  stoutly.     "  The  woman,  she  should 
a-looked  at  it  harder  and  been  more  care- 
ful if  she  didn't  want  to  give  so  much." 

Mr.  Browning  tried  to  teach  Freddy  the 
golden  rule  of  doing  unto  others  as  you 
would  be  done  by.  "  Very  likely  she  will 
lose  her  place  for  her  carelessness,"  said 


IO6  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


he.  "  I'm  sure  you  would  be  sorry  for 
that ;  perhaps  she  is  as  poor  as  you  are. 
Besides,  if  it  was  given  to  you  by  mistake, 
you  ought  to  take  it  back  to  its  right 
owner." 

But  Freddy  only  shook  his  head. 

"  It's  a  heap  o'  money,"  said  he  ;  "  more'n 
I  ever  had  in  all  my  life.  I  can  buy  my 
blacking-box  and  brushes  with  it.  I  ain't  a 
going  to  take  it  back.  It  was  give  to  me." 

"  Well,  Freddy,"  said  Mr.  Browning,  "  I 
cannot  make  you  take  it  back,  nor  can  I 
give  you  a  tender  conscience,  and  make 
you  see  how  wrong  it  is  to  keep  what  be- 
longs to  another ;  but  I  can  tell  you  what 
is  right,  and  I  do  hope  you  will  do  it.  You 
were  very  glad  to  know  that  God  loves 
you,  and  would  take  care  of  you,  were  you 
not  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Freddy  ;  "  but  I  don't 
see  that's  got  anything  to  do  with  it." 

"  It  has,  however,  Freddy ;  for  if  you 
want  God  to  take  care  of  you,  you  must 


FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


love  him  ;  and  if  you  do  that,  you  must 
try  your  best  to  keep  His  commandments. 
Only  those  who  do  so  are  His  children." 

"  Well,  I  guess  God  can't  see  me,"  said 
Freddy,  with  an  uneasy  glance  up  at  the 
cloudy  sky. 

"  Yes,  He  can,  and  He  does.  He  sees 
light  into  your  heart,  and  He  knows  what 
you  are  thinking  about." 

"  Then  He  knows  how  much  I  want  a 
blacking-box,"  said  Freddy,  quickly. 

"  If  you  try  hard  and  please  Him,  He 
will  give  you  all  that  is  necessary  for  you 
to  have." 

"  If  I  take  this  bit  of  money  back,  f 'rin- 
stance,"  said  Freddy,  eagerly,  "  would  He 
make  a  blacking-box  come  to  me  somehow?" 

"  No,  I  do  not  say  that  He  would,"  an- 
swered Mr.  Browning  ;  "  but  He  will  love 
you  for  trying  to  please  Him,  and  He  will 
certainly  take  care  of  you." 

Freddy  stood  earnestly  rubbing  his  pur- 
ple feet  together. 


108  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


"  Don't  you  believe  what  I  say  ?"  asked 
Mr.  Browning,  thinking  he  saw  doubt  ex- 
pressed in  his  face. 

"  Well,  sir,  I  wouldn't  like  to  go  so  far  as 
to  say  you  lied,  you  know,"  said  Freddy,  in 
a  hesitating  way,  "  but  I  don't  think  I  be- 
lieve as  He  would  trouble  himself  to  look 
after  such  a  horrid  little  chap  as  I  be." 

Mr.  Browning  could  not  help  smiling  as 
he  said,  "  But  He  does  take  care  of  you, 
Freddy,  whether  you  believe  it  or  not ;  and 
He  does  love  you,  and  will  give  you  what 
is  best  for  you  to  have." 

"  I'd  rather  have  a  blacking-box  than  any- 
thing" said  Freddy. 

"  Would  you  rather  own  a  blacking-box 
than  to  have  the  Great  God  for  your  friend  ?" 
asked  Mr.  Browning. 

"  Well,  sir,  I  could  see  a  blacking-box, 
you  know,"  answered  Freddy,  in  an  obsti- 
nate, persistent  way. 

"  Well,  my  boy,  I'm  in  a  great  hurry  to- 
day. I  cannot  stay  any  longer.  I've  told 


FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


I09 


you  what  was  right.  Good-bye,  Freddy." 
And  Mr.  Browning  walked  off  rapidly. 

Freddy  followed  slowly.  He  wished  Mr. 
Browning  had  not  come  along  just  then. 
What  business  was  it  of  his,  anyway  ?  Why 
didn't  he  let  him  alone  ?  "  Plaguing  a  fel- 
ler's life  out  with  his  right  an'  his  wrong. 
Don't  Vlecve  God  can  see  me.  S'pose  He 
can — what  then?"  Freddy  tried  to  whis- 
tle, but  found  he  was  whistling  the  dismal 
tune,  and  he  stopped.  He  felt  very  uncom- 
fortable. He  pulled  the  gold  piece  out  of 
the  little  money-bag  that  hung  around  his 
neck.  He  wanted  to  look  at  it,  and  thought 
it  would  make  him  feel  better.  It  was  very 
bright  and  very  beautiful,  but  he  put  it  back 
soon,  and  did  not  feel  any  better  at  all,  he 
said  to  himself. 

"  It's  a  good  thing,  I  s'pose,  to  have  some 
one  love  you  ;  Lisa  thinks  a  lot  of  it.  Won- 
der what  it's  like  up  to  heaven.  Guess  it's 
warm  up  there — that's  where  the  sun  is. 
It's  dreadful  cold  here.  And  folks  don't 
10 


1 10  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


beat  folks  up  there,  Lisa  says.  I'd  like  to 
go  first-rate.  I'm  kinder  'fraid  o'  the  bad 
place — it's  horrid  there.  Wonder  if  I'd  be 
there  if  I  didn't  go  to  heaven.  S'pose  I 
would.  'Tain't  worth  while  going  there 
for  a  blacking-box.  I'll  go  home  and  ask 
Lisa." 

Home  he  went,  for  it  was  getting  late, 
and  he  was  tired.  He  ran  after  a  street 
car,  and  caught  hold  of  the  rail  to  swing 
himself  up  on  the  step,  and  get  a  ride,  for 
he  had  a  long  way  to  go  and  his  legs  ached 
with  the  cold.  But  the  conductor  came 
out  and  angrily  ordered  him  off,  and  Fred- 
dy had  to  step  down  again. 

"  They  let  boys  with  blacking  -  boxes 
ride,"  said  he  to  himself,  "  for  I've  seen 
'em  blacking  men's  boots  on  the  steps  while 
the  cars  were  going." 

It  seemed  to  him  just  then  that  the  bene- 
fits arising  from  the  possession  of  a  black- 
ing-box were  numberless,  and  he  resolved 
not  to  part  with  his  money.  But  he  ad- 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  Ill 


hered  to  his  purpose  of  telling-  Lisa  all 
about  it,  and  did  so  as  soon  as  he  could 
find  her  on  his  return.  Lisa  listened  eag- 
erly till  he  had  finished  his  story,  and  heard 
his  complaints  against  Mr.  Browning's  in- 
terference, and  his  own  resolution  to  keep 
the  money. 

"  Now,  Lisa,  you  don't  think  I'd  oughter 
take  it  back,  do  you  ?  " 

Freddy  thought  she  would  agree  with 
him  in  this  as  she  did  in  all  things.  He 
was  surprised,  therefore,  to  hear  her  say : 

"  I  think  you'd  oughter,  Freddy." 

"  There  now  !  "  exclaimed  he,  angrily, 
"  what's  the  use  in  talking  to  girls  ?  They 
don't  know  everything  by  half,  though  they 
think  they  do ; "  and  Freddy  looked  very 
angry,  turned  his  back  on  Lisa,  and  poked 
his  big  toe  down  a  knot-hole  in  the  floor 
with  as  much  care  as  though  it  was  the 
object  of  his  life  to  get  it  in. 

Lisa  said  nothing,  but  the  tears  started 
as  she  thought  perhaps  Freddy  would 


112  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


always  be  cross  to  her  now,  because  she 
said  that ;  but  she  still  thought  he  ought  to 
take  it  back,  since  Mr.  Browning  had  said 
so.  Freddy  turned  partly  round  to  see 
what  she  was  doing,  and  why  she  did  not 
speak.  He  felt  a  little  ashamed  when  he 
saw  her  crying  softly. 

"  Don't  be  a  goose !  "  said  he,  quickly. 
"  What  you  crying  for?  " 

"  Oh,  Freddy,"  said  she,  "  don't  be  mad 
with  me,  but  do  please  take  back  the  money. 
It  scares  me  to  think  meb'be  God  won't 
love  us  if  we  keep  it.  If  you'd  oughter  do 
it  .you'd  oughter,  and  Mr.  Browning 
wouldn't  a'  said  you'd  oughter,  if  you 
hadn't  oughter ! " 

This  sound  reasoning  and  Lisa's  funny, 
little,  serious  face  made  Freddy  laugh,  and 
when  he  did  that  all  the  badness  seemed  to 
melt  right  out  of  his  heart. 

"  I'll  take  it  back,"  said  he,  quickly  ; 
"  'tain't  worth  all  the  fuss.  But  it's  an 
awful  plague  though,  all  this  you  d oughter  /  " 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  113 


Freddy  felt  at  that  moment  as  if  he  wish- 
ed he  never  had  heard  about  right  and 
wrong.  He  thought  there  was  more  plague 
than  profit  in  doing  what  was  right.  Many 
an  older  person  has  thought  so  too,  but 
lived  to  find  out  their  mistake. 

The  next  day  he  set  out  on  his  journey 
up-town  at  a  very  rapid  rate.  He  was 
afraid  to  stop  till  he  had  given  up  the 
money,  for  he  knew  if  he  saw  a  bay  with  a 
blacking-box  it  would  be  too  much  for  him 
— he  never  in  the  world  could  get  by  with- 
out stopping  to  trade  ;  so  he  almost  ran  till 
he  reached  the  house.  To  his  great  surprise 
the  front  door  was  open,  and  the  hall  seem- 
ed to  be  full  of  people,  all  talking  loudly 
together  and  gathered  around  a  woman 
who  had  on  her  bonnet  and  shawl,  and  was 
crying  violently. 

A  policeman  stood  by  her,  and  just  as 
Freddy  came  up,  he  was  saying,  "  Come, 
now,  young  woman,  don't  keep  me  waiting 
any  longer;  come  on,  and  take  it  easy." 


114  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


Freddy  pushed  forward,  eager  to  see 
what  was  going  on,  and,  to  his  surprise, 
saw  the  good-natured  face  of  the  nurse  who 
had  given  him  the  money  bathed  in  tears, 
as  she  struggled  violently  to  rid  herself  of 
the  policeman's  firm  hold.  A  lady  stood 
by,  with  an  anxious,  disturbed  face,  and  a 
crowd  of  servants,  all  crying  and  groaning, 
filled  the  hall. 

"  Is  she  a-being  took  up?"  asked  Freddy 
of  the  nearest  girl,  who  was  a  servant  from 
a  neighboring  house. 

"  Yes,"  she  replied  with  a  sob,  "  they're 
a-going  to  take  her  to  jail,  and  she's  done 
nothing  at  all — but  they  won't  believe  her." 

"  Susan  !  "  said  the  lady,  turning  sharply 
round  upon  the  girl  who  had  spoken,  and 
not  noticing  Freddy,  "  Susan,  don't  speak 
in  that  way !  You  know  that  I  would  not 
have  Ellen  taken  to  jail  for  nothing !  I  have 
missed  many  things  lately,  little  articles  of 
jewelry  and  other  things,  and  yesterday  a 
gold  piece  was  taken  from  my  purse.  No 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  115 


one  but  Ellen  could  have  taken  it,  for  she 
was  the  only  one  in  the  room  where  it  was. 
I  am  quite  sure  she  has  it,  and  it  confirms 
me  in  my  suspicion  that  she  stole  all  the 
other  things  I  have  lost." 

But  poor  Ellen  sobbed  harder  and  harder. 

"  I  never,  never  did  take  anything"  she 
cried,  "  and  I  never  touched  your  money, 
except  one  cent  I  took  to  pay  a  little  boy 
who  fiddled  for  Archie  ;  and  you  always  said 
I  could  give  pennies  to  them  playing  boys." 

"  It's  not  only  the  gold  piece,"  said  the 
lady ;  "  that  is  only  the  means  of  fastening 
my  suspicion  on  you.  I  have  lost  many 
things." 

"  And  no  wonder,"  said  Susan,  snappishly, 
"  for  you  never  takes  care  of  your  things. 
You  leaves  them  round  and  loses  them 
yourself,  and  then  says  folks  has  taken  them." 

"  Leave  my  house  !  "  said  the  lady.  "  Go 
home  immediately — I'll  have  no  imperti- 
nence." 

Now  all  this  time  Freddy  was  standing 


Il6  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


with  eyes  wide  open,  wondering  much  at 
all  he  saw,  and  greatly  interested.  Here 
was  somebody  being  took  up — a  thing  he 
had  heard  of  all  his  life,  but  never  had  wit- 
nessed till  now.  The  figure  of  the  police- 
man seemed  to  inspire  him  with  awe.  He 
had  never  been  quite  so  close  to  such 
majesty  in  his  life.  He  almost  forgot  what 
he  had  come  for,  in  his  anxiety  to  hear  all 
that  passed.  But  the  policeman  tapped  the 
girl  on  her  shoulder. 

"  Come,  now,  young  woman,  you'd  best 
take  it  easy.  Take  my  arm  and  come 
along ;  "  and  he  put  his  arm  around  her,  as 
if  to  force  her  to  accompany  him. 

Ellen  screamed,  and  held  on  to  the  bal- 
ustrade, and  a  great  scene  of  confusion  fol- 
lowed. Suddenly  Freddy  ran  forward. 

"  Lookee  here  !  Stop  now,  will  you  ?  " 
he  cried.  "  I  say,  P'leece,  hold  on !  "  and 
he  dragged  off  the  little  bag  from  his  neck. 
"  See  here,  will  you  ?  That  there  young 
woman  give  me  this  yesterday  in  a  mistake. 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  II? 


She  thought  'twas  a  cent,  I  reckon,  an'  I 
come  for  to  fetch  it  back  to  her." 

It  would  be  impossible  to  describe  the 
scene  that  ensued.  The  policeman  released 
Ellen,  who  ran  to  Freddy  and  kissed  him 
frantically,  to  his  great  dismay.  His  breath 
was  quite  taken  away  as  he  gasped — "  Oh  ! 
I  say,  now,  don't  you  do  it !  Young  woman, 
hold  on,  I  say." 

The  lady  held  the  gold  piece  in  her  hand, 
and  looked  at  it  closely,  with  a  very  red 
face,  while  all  around  her  rose  the  clamors 
of  the  indignant  servants,  who  left  off  cry- 
ing for  Ellen,  and  took  to  loud  vociferation 
instead.  The  hall  was  like  Babel,  so  great 
was  the  confusion  of  tongues. 

"  Did  ye  iver  hear  the  loike  o'  that,  nowi 
Poor  craiture  !  Git  out  wid  yez,  P'leece ! 
ye'll  git  none  here  the-day !  Ah,  the  poor 
lamb !  But  she's  been  harshly  thrated ! 
Coom,  Ellen,  darlint,  look  up  an'  stop  cryin '. 
Sure  your  ch'racter's  cleared  quite  entoirely. 
Ah,  bad  luck  to  ye,  p'leece-man !  G'out 


118  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


now,  an'  don't  be  shtandin'  round  aggrava- 
tin'  us  !  "  These  were  a  few  of  the  remarks 
made,  all  in  loud,  excited  tones. 

The  lady  drew  the  policeman  aside,  and, 
after  talking  to  him  for  a  few  moments,  he 
touched  his  hat  and  turned  to  go.  Nobody 
had  noticed  Freddy  in  the  general  excite- 
ment ;  they  were  all  clustered  around  Ellen, 
who  now  sat  on  the  lowest  step  of  the  stairs, 
crying  as  if  her  heart  would  break.  As  the 
policeman  left  the  hall,  Freddy  followed 
him,  and  they  went  down  the  steps  together, 
Freddy  glancing  up  at  him  timidly.  As 
they  reached  the  street,  the  great  man 
stopped,  took  Freddy  by  the  chin,  and  look- 
ed hard  at  him  for  a  moment. 

"  You  didn't  make  much  by  that  job, 
youngster,"  said  he,  kindly  ;  "  but  I'll  know 
you  when  we  meet  again."  So  saying  he 
walked  off  in  one  direction,  and  Freddy  in 
another,  pondering  on  all  he  had  heard  and 
seen,  and  thinking  that  perhaps  there  was 
some  use  in  " yoiid  oughtcr"  after  all. 


VII. 


FREDDY  took  his  way  toward  one  ot 
the  principal  railroad  depots,  thinking 
that  he  could  earn  as  much  there  as  else- 
where, and  keep  himself  warm  at  the  stove 
in  the  waiting-room.  He  had  not  eaten 
much  breakfast  that  morning,  for  his  mind 
had  been  in  a  tumult  about  restoring  the 
gold-piece,  and,  although  he  had  firmly  re- 
solved to  do  so,  he  felt  very  low-spirited  and 
forlorn.  Tonio  had  been  cross  and  exact- 
ing, and  altogether  he  had  felt  so  uncom- 
fortable that  he  could  not  eat  heartily  as 
usual. 

Now  that  the  excitement  was  all  over,  he 
began  to  feel  very  hungry,  but  he  was  far 
from  any  of  the  houses  where  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  go  for  a  bit  of  bread  and  butter, 
which  was  given  as  payment  for  some  small 
(119) 


I2O  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


service  rendered  to  the  servants.  So  he  en- 
tered one  of  the  little  corner  groceries  that 
abound  on  the  west  side  of  the  city,  and 
asked  for  an  egg,  producing,  at  the  same 
time,  his  only  cent  to  pay  for  it.  When 
he  heard  that  eggs  were  four  cents  apiece 
he  was  quite  dismayed,  and  stood  disconso- 
lately looking  at  his  money,  and  wishing 
that  he  might  have  kept  the  gold-piece.  It 
seemed  to  him  that  he  had  wilfully  thrown 
away  a  splendid  chance  to  make  his  fortune, 
and  disregarded  a  golden  opportunity. 

He  was  not  quite  sure  that  after  all  he 
had  not  been  "  a  softy,"  as  he  called  it.  But 
the  remembrance  of  Ellen's  face  comforted 
him,  and  he  sighed  a  little  sigh,  and  then 
said,  quite  cheerfully,  "  Then  hand  over  a 
herring,  ma'am,  if  you  please."  The  gro- 
cer's wife,  who  was  waiting  on  customers, 
was  a  fat,  jolly-looking  woman,  who  had 
five  boys  of  her  own,  who,  she  did  declare, 
were  the  plague  of  her  life.  But  it  is  a  sin- 
gular fact  that  mothers  grow  good-natured 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  121 


when  they  have  plenty  of  such  plagues 
about,  and  they  generally  have  a  very  warm 
spot  somewhere  in  their  hearts  for  little, 
cold,  hungry  boys  such  as  Freddy.  So  it 
happened  that,  when  she  saw  his  disap- 
pointed face,  she  said  cheerily : 

"  Set  your  heart  on  an  egg,  bubby  ?  Well, 
you  just  play  a  tune  on  your  fiddle  for  baby, 
and  I'll  find  one  somewhere  for  you.  It 
won't  be  over-fresh  maybe,  but  I  don't  sup- 
pose you  mind  that  ?" 

"  Oh,  no  !"  said  Freddy ;  "  I'm  no  ways 
over-pettikler." 

So  he  played  "  Champagne  Charlie  "  for 
her,  with  variations  of  a  decidedly  discur- 
sive nature,  and  she  danced  her  baby  on 
the  counter,  and  declared  that  it  kept  time 
to  the  music  itself  with  its  own  little  crooked 
red  legs,  a  fact  she  called  Freddy  to  witness, 
as  she  asked  him  if  he  did  not  think  it  was 
an  uncommon  child  in  every  way. 

"  I  don't  know  much  about  babies,"  said 
he.  "  I  like  the  kind  that  sucks  their  thumbs 


122  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


and  waggles  their  heads  kinder  good  an' 
wobbly;  you  know  some  of  them  do  sit  so 
stiff  and  scream  so  vicious." 

Now  this  was  a  lucky  remark,  for  this 
particular  baby  happened  to  be  a  thumb- 
sucking,  waggle-headed,  wobbly  baby,  and 
the  woman  laughed  ;  and,  after  declaring  in 
a  high  key  that  it  was  "  ye  tiddiest  little  sing 
in  all  e'  world,"  she  stooped  down  and  drew 
out  an  egg  from  a  box  under  the  counter, 
which  she  handed  to  Freddy,  refusing  his 
money,  and  saying,  "  Oh,  you  step  in  along 
some  time  and  give  the  baby  a  tune  or  so, 
and  that'll  do." 

Freddy  thanked  her,  and  went  on  his  way 
to  the  depot.  The  next  train  would  not 
start  for  half  an  hour,  and  the  large  wait- 
ing-room was  nearly  empty,  when  Freddy 
timidly  opened  the  door  and  glanced  around 
to  see  if  the  smart  colored  woman  who  pre- 
sided over  the  room  was  there.  He  knew 
she  would  not  let  him  enter,  but  she  was 
nowhere  to  be  seen,  and  he  ventured  in. 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  123 


A  few  ladies  were  sitting  at  the  farther  end 
of  the  room,  and  one  was  warming  her  feet 
at  the  bright,  hot  stove  where  Freddy  want- 
ed to  warm  his  numb  hands.  She  had  a 
kind,  pleasant  face,  and  he  thought  she 
would  not  order  him  away,  so  he  drew 
near  very  quietly. 

There  was  a  large  open  kettle  on  top  of 
the  stove  in  which  the  water  was  boiling  at 
a  great  rate,  for  this  was  a  bitter  cold  morn- 
ing, and  the  few  who  ventured  to  travel 
were  glad  enough  to  warm  their  feet  before 
starting,  and  make  themselves  as  comfort- 
able as  they  could  ;  so  the  colored  woman 
had  built  a  great  fire,  and  placed  the  kettle 
on  top  to  keep  the  air  moist  and  pleasant, 
little  dreaming  that  it  would  be  used  to 
cook  breakfast  for  a  fiddling  boy.  But 
Freddy  had  calculated  all  these  chances, 
and  when  he  saw  that  the  young  lady  who 
sat  by  the  stove  smiled  when  he  spread  out 
his  poor,  cold  hands  to  the  fire,  he  seized 
his  opportunity,  and,  with  another  hurried 


124  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


look  around  the  room,  suddenly  popped  the 
egg  into  the  kettle.  Now  if,  by  great  good 
luck,  that  cross  colored  woman  would  stay 
away  three  minutes,  he  would  have  a  hot 
boiled  egg  to  comfort  himself  with  !  The 
young  lady  laughed,  and  asked  him  in  Ital- 
ian if  that  was  his  breakfast. 

"  Nix  forstayn,"  answered  Freddy. 

The  lady  then  repeated  the  question  in 
German. 

"  Nix  forstayn,  I  tell  you  !"  said  he  in  a 
loud  tone,  thinking  she  would  understand 
better  if  he  shouted  to  her. 

Freddy  had  bright,  dark  eyes  and  a  dark 
complexion,  and  the  lady  had  mistaken  him 
for  a  foreigner,  and  supposed  he  only  un- 
derstood Italian,  whereas  Freddy,  poor 
child,  talked  a  peculiar  language  of  his 
own,  which  could  not  in  truth  be  called 
English,  but  was  a  mixture  of  all  the  street 
phrases  he  had  picked  up  from  other  boys 
and  a  most  ungrammatical  version  of  what 
might  originally  have  been  English. 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  12$ 


He  heard  a  great  deal  of  Italian  and 
French  spoken,  for  many  of  the  men  in  the 
neighborhood  were  foreigners,  but  they 
generally  kept  together  in  rooms  by  them- 
selves, and  did  not  mix  much  with  others. 
The  few  who  lived  in  the  house  with  him 
were  not  the  best  of  the  class  they  repre- 
sented, and  were  of  all  nations  apparently. 
Their  strange  patois  was  very  confusing, 
and  Freddy  had  taken  more  naturally  to 
the  language  spoken  with  such  force  by 
Sally  and  others  of  her  stamp  around 
him. 

"  No  understandy  you,"  he  explained  to 
the  lady ;  "  me  no  talkee  Dutch  nor  nothin' !" 
and  he  tried  to  help  out  his  meaning  by  vio- 
lent pantomime,  pointing  to  his  mouth,  ears, 
eyes,  and  nose,  and  shaking  his  head  very 
hard.  This  was  intended  to  convey  the  idea 
that  he  was  not  acquainted  with  foreign 
tongues,  but  an  inexperienced  observer 
might  have  thought  he  meant  to  insinuate 
that  he  was  deaf,  dumb,  blind,  and  deprived 


126  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


of  the  senses  of  taste  and  smell.  The  lady 
laughed  heartily. 

"  I  asked  if  that  was  your  breakfast,"  said 
she,  pointing  to  the  egg  which  was  bobbing 
around  in  the  boiling  water. 

"  Well,  yes'm,  I  suppose  so,"  answered 
Freddy,  standing  on  tiptoe  to  look  at  it. 

"  How  are  you  going  to  get  it  out  ?"  she 
asked  ;  "  you'll  scald  your  hands  with  that 
hot  water." 

Freddy  nodded  his  head  as  much  as  to 
say  he  knew  what  he  was  about,  and  then 
began  to  poke  the  egg  round  in  the  kettle 
with  the  end  of  his  fiddle-bow.  This  was 
slippery  fishing  ;  he  would  raise  it  nearly 
to  the  top  of  the  kettle,  when  back  it  would 
go  again  into  the  scalding  water,  with  a 
splash  that  made  him  wink  his  eyes,  and 
this  was  repeated  till  the  egg  had  been 
caught  and  lost  about  twenty  times.  The 
lady  sat  by,  watching  the  proceedings  with 
great  amusement. 

"  You'll  never  get  it  out,"  said  she  at  last. 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  12? 


"  Oh,  yes,  I  will,  ma'am,"  answered  Fred- 
dy, cheerfully  ;  "  I  'spose  you  couldn't  lend 
me  that  hooky  stick  ?"  pointing  to  the  handle 
of  her  small  silk  umbrella. 

"  Well,  no,  I  don't  think  I  could,"  said 
she  ;  "  it  would  break  in  that  hot  water." 

"  Oh,  you  needn't  put  it  in  ;  just  wait  till 
I  fish  up  the  egg  again,  an'  then  you  steady 
it  for  half  a  shake  with  that  stick,  an'  I'm 
bound  to  get  it." 

"  Very  well,"  said  the  lady,  laughing ; 
and,  getting  up,  she  stood  ready  to  steady 
the  egg  as  Freddy  desired.  But  it  seemed 
possessed  to  whirl  round  in  the  kettle,  while 
Freddy,  always  on  tiptoe,  made  frantic  dabs 
at  it  with  his  fiddle-bow.  It  became  quite 
exciting. 

"Now,  now!"  he  exclaimed,  and  the  young 
lady  hastily  tried  to  hook  it  with  the  end  of 
her  umbrella.  Over  and  over  again  they 
tried  and  failed,  till  the  lady  became  as 
much  interested  as  Freddy  in  the  result. 
Holding  her  silk  skirt  back  with  one  hand 


128  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


from  the  glowing  stove,  she  plunged  her 
umbrella  handle  in  when  Freddy  gave  the 
word  : 

"  Here  'tis  !  steady  now  !  Hook  him  up, 
ma'am !  There,  now,  you've  let  it  go  again  !" 

At  last  a  prolonged  ah-h-h-h  told  of  the 
moment  of  victory,  and  in  another  instant 
the  egg  was  rolled  to  the  top  of  the  kettle, 
and  out  into  Freddy's  hand. 

"  We  did  that  first  rate  !"  said  he,  his  eyes 
sparkling  with  excitement ;  "  it's  lucky  for 
us  the  darkey  woman  didn't  come  in  and 
catch  us  !" 

The  lady's  laugh  was  echoed  by  a  louder 
one,  and,  looking  up,  Freddy  saw  a  gen- 
tleman standing  by  her,  who  had  been  an 
amused  spectator  of  the  transaction,  and 
who  now  advanced  with  a  bow,  and  offered 
his  hand  to  Miss  Ashton.  She  colored  as 
she  returned  the  salutation,  and  looked  a 
little  embarrassed  for  a  moment ;  but  it  was 
only  for  a  moment,  as  she  began  to  laugh 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  1 29 


"  I  really  couldn't  help  it,"  said  she  ;  "  it 
\vas  so  exciting  to  fish  in  boiling  water." 

"  Wasn't  it  fun  !"  exclaimed  Freddy,  ea- 
gerly. 

"  Well,  you  had  better  go  and  eat  your 
egg,"  said  the  gentleman,  "  and  then  you 
can  come  back  and  carry  some  of  these 
bundles." 

Freddy  did  as  he  was  bid,  retiring  to  the 
street,  where,  sitting  on  the  curbstone  with 
his  legs  doubled  under  him  to  keep  warm, 
he  clipped  his  eggshell  and  enjoyed  his 
dainty,  which,  as  the  woman  had  said,  was 
none  of  the  freshest.  But  a  hungry  boy  of 
nine  will  eat  many  a  thing  which  I,  for  in- 
stance, would  not  crave.  Meanwhile  the 
lady  and  gentleman  were  talking  about  him. 

"  He  has  a  much  better  face  than  boys  of 
his  class  usually  own,"  said  Miss  Ashton, 
"  and  he  was  such  a  bright-eyed,  cheery 
little  fellow,  I  could  not  help  doing  what  he 
wanted  me  to." 

"  I  have  no  doubt  the  contents  of  .your 


130  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


portemonnaie  will  make  him  more  cheerful 
than  ever,"  answered  the  gentleman.  "  You 
had  better  look  in  your  pocket  and  see  if 
you  have  it  still." 

"  You  may  laugh  at  me,  if  you  like,"  an- 
swered Miss  Ashton,  "  but  I  pride  myself 
on  being  able  to  read  faces  accurately,  and 
I'm  quite  sure  that  is  an  honest  boy.  If  he 
were  not,  he  could  not  have  looked  so  fear- 
lessly into  my  eyes  and  laughed  so  merrily. 
No,  thank  you  !  my  money  is  quite  safe," 
said  she  laughing,  as  the  gentleman  offered 
his  pocket-book  and  suggested  it  would  be 
well  to  supply  herself  for  her  journey,  in  a 
mocking  tone. 

At  that  moment  the  bell  began  to  ring,  and 
every  one  hurried  to  the  cars  ;  the  half  hour 
had  slipped  away,  and  now  there  was  not  a 
minute  to  be  lost.  Freddy  appeared  sudden- 
ly with  his  fiddle  tucked  under  his  arm. 

"  Where's  them  bundles?"  said  he,  breath- 
lessly ;  "  give  'em  to  me  quick,  the  cars  is 
going !" 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  131 


"  Don't  excite  yourself,  my  young  friend," 
said  the  -gentleman  slowly,  giving  him  a 
heavy  bag  to  carry,  and  offering  his  arm  to 
Miss  Ashton. 

The  crowd  jostled  and  pushed,  and  Fred- 
dy had  hard  work  to  stagger  along  under 
the  bag.  Everybody  ran  over  him,  and 
pushed  him  aside,  and  seemed  to  think  he 
had  no  right  to  be  there  at  all,  and  he  had 
to  hold  his  fiddle  tightly  under  his  arm,  and 
carry  the  bag  with  both  hands.  It  was 
harder  work  to  keep  the  gentleman  and 
lady  in  view  as  they  walked  down  the  long 
platform  and  got  into  the  car.  Freddy, 
tugging  the  bag,  kept  up  manfully,  but  a 
rush  of  people  at  the  steps  crowded 'him 
away  as  often  as  he  tried  to  get  up,  and  it 
was  not  till  they  had  all  passed  in,  and  the 
bell  had  rung,  and  the  whistle  soundect,  that 
the  poor  child  struggled  on  to  the  platform 
of  the  car,  and,  just  as  he  did  so,  the  engine 
gave  a  snort — a  pant— -a  shriek— and  they 
were  off. 


132  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


What  could  Freddy  do  ?  He  could  not 
jump  down,  for  he  had  to  give  the  bag  to 
its  owner.  He  pushed,  and  elbowed  his 
way  through  the  narrow  passage  between 
the  seats,  looking  right  and  left  for  the  gen- 
tleman and  lady,  who  were  nowhere  to  be 
seen,  and  all  the  time  the  motion  became 
more  and  more  rapid. 

It  was  with  feelings  of  the  wildest  impa- 
tience that  he  was  obliged  to  wait  and  allow 
fussy  people  to  bustle  round  directly  in  his 
way,  keeping  him  waiting,  or  to  push  by 
gentlemen  who  stood  in  the  passage-way 
very  much  at  their  ease,  talking  quietly  to 
friends,  while  Freddy's  poor  little  heart  was 
beating  harder  every  moment  as  the  train 
moved  with  greater  speed ;  and  when  a 
very  slow  and  very  fat  woman  obstructed 
the  way  and  leisurely  proceeded  to  make 
herself  comfortable,  Freddy  felt  as  if  he 
could  actually  fly  over  her  broad  back. 
Then,  just  as  he  had  passed  her,  after  long 
delay,  he  was  pushed  back  by  a  brakeman, 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  133 


who,  seeing  his  fiddle,  thought  he  had  smug- 
gled himself  on  the  cars  to  play  for  money, 
and  it  took  some  time  to  explain  matters  to 
him. 

With  one  thing  and  another  the  train  was 
running  at  full  speed  before  Freddy  reached 
the  forward  car.  He  could  hardly  keep  on 
his  feet  as  he  staggered  toward  the  gentle- 
man, who  had  given  him  up,  and  was  now 
laughing  at  the  lady  about  her  ability  to 
read  honest  faces, 

"  Your  theory  has  cost  me  my  bag  and  all 
therein,"  said  he,  and  Miss  Ashton  looked  an- 
noyed, but  kept  eagerly  watching  for  Freddy. 

"  There  he  is  !"  she  exclaimed,  as  his  red, 
anxious  face  appeared  at  the  door. 

The  poor  little  fellow  was  quite  tired  and 
breathless,  and  came  panting  along  with  the 
heavy  bag,  which  he  dropped  at  the  gentle- 
man's feet,  and  then  turned  away  to  hide 
the  tears  that  came  faster  and  faster  as  he 
realized  that  he  was  being  carried  away 
from  his  home  at  lightning  speed. 


134  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


"  Poor  little  fellow !"  said  Miss  Ashton, 
"  he  has  been  carried  off  by  the  train.  It's 
too  bad,  I  declare.  What  will  he  do  ?" 

"  Why  didn't  you  keep  up  with  us  ?" 
asked  the  gentleman. 

"  How  could  I  keep  up  when  folks  was 
all  a-pushing  me  back  all  the  time  ?"  he 
cried.  "  I  did  try  to,  but  there  was  no 
time.  They  scrouged,  and  they  pushed, 
and  they  wouldn't  let  me  get  up,  and  now 
I  don't  know  what  to  do." . 

Poor  Freddy  did  not  know  how  far  the 
train  was  going.  He  had  some  dim  vision 
of  being  carried  off  to  the  ends  of  the  earth 
and  landed  among  savages.  His  ideas  on 
the  subject  of  traveling  and  geography  were 
more  comprehensive  than  correct. 

"  Well,  don't  cry,"  said  Miss  Ashton ; 
"  we  will  get  you  home  again.  Come,  sit 
here  by  me,  and  tell  me  if  your  egg  was 
good." 

"  Tolerable,  ma'am,"  said  he,  absently. 
His  eyes  were  fixed  on  the  window,  through 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  135 


which  he  saw  the  surrounding  country  ap- 
parently flying  past  him.  He  almost  forgot 
his  troubles  at  this  wonderful  sight ;  but 
when  Miss  Ashton  asked  him  where  he 
lived,  he  suddenly  remembered  his  unfor- 
tunate position.  How  should  he  ever  get 
back?  He  felt  sure  he  never  could  walk 
all  that  long  distance  home  again.  But  Miss 
Ashton  felt  very  sorry  for  him,  and  hasten- 
ed to  set  his  little  mind  at  rest  by  explaining 
to  him  that,  before  very  long,  the  train  would 
stop,  she  would  get  out,  and  he  should,  too, 
and  then  she  would  put  him  on  another  train 
which  would  take  him  back  to  the  city. 

The  gentleman  who  was  with  her,  and 
anxious  to  talk  to  her,  thought  she  gave 
herself  much  unnecessary  trouble  about  the 
matter.  He  thought  Freddy  was  only  a  lit- 
tle fiddling  boy,  of  no  particular  conse- 
quence—  one  who  probably  knew  well 
enough  how  to  take  care  of  himself,  and 
who,  if  he  got  into  a  scrape,  ought  to  be 
able  to  get  himself  out  again. 


136  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


But  Minnie  Ashton  entered  into  a  little 
child's  feelings.  She  remembered  how  im- 
portant little  matters  were  to  her  when  she 
was  a  child ;  how  terrible  little  dangers 
seemed  ;  how  comforting  a  few  kind  words 
were ;  and  she  never  slighted  children's 
sorrows,  as  so  many  do,  but  always  spoke 
the  kind  word,  and  did  the  little  kindness, 
and  many  childish  hearts  blessed  her,  un- 
consciously, for  her  delicate  sympathy. 
Freddy  thought  he  had  never  seen  any 
one  half  so  lovely,  as  he  looked  into  her 
pretty,  kind  eyes,  while  she  was  smiling 
and  talking  to  him. 

Now  that  he  was  reassured  on  the  subject 
of  getting  home,  he  greatly  enjoyed  the  ex- 
citement. The  rapid  movement  delighted 
him,  and  he  soon  became  bright  and  joyful 
again,  and  answered  all  Miss  Ashton's  ques- 
tions. Little  by  little  she  drew  from  him 
the  simple  story  of  his  life,  and  her  eyes 
were  more  than  once  filled  with  tears  as 
he  told  of  his  home,  manner  of  living,  and 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  137 


of  Lisa.  Even  the  gentleman  seemed  to 
take  an  interest  after  a  while  in  the  boy's 
odd  way  of  talking,  as  he  unconsciously 
showed  his  joyless,  hard  life,  speaking  of  it 
as  a  matter  of  course,  and  without  a  thought 
of  its  being  in  the  least  extraordinary  for  a 
child  of  nine  to  earn  a  living  for  two  peo- 
ple. When  he  told  about  the  gold  piece, 
Miss  Ashton  glanced  triumphantly  at  her 
companion. 

"  I  knew  he  was  honest,"  she  said. 

"  So  you  want  to  establish  yourself  in  the 
blacking  business,"  said  the  gentleman. 

"  I'd  like  to  make  more  money,  sir,  if  I 
could,  for  it's  not  everybody  as  likes  to  lis- 
ten to  my  music." 

"  No  ?"  said  the  gentleman,  in  a  tone  of 
surprise.  "  Why,  you  astonish  me  !" 

"  No,  sir,"  said  Freddy.  "  Some  folks 
sends  me  away,  and  some  says,  '  Plague 
take  his  fiddle.'  Children  seem  to  like  it, 
though.  But,  if  I  had  a  blacking-box,  I 
could  make  a  lot  more  money,  you  know." 


138  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


"  How  much  have  you  got  ?"  asked  Miss 
Ashton. 

Freddy  replied  by  holding  up  a  cent. 

"  Now,  Frederick,"  said  the  gentleman, 
"  if  I  advance  capital  enough  to  enable  you 
to  go  into  business  on  your  own  account, 
will  you  promise  me  not  to  speculate  with 
it?" 

"What's  that,  sir?"  asked  Freddy,  quite 
mystified. 

"  Will  you  invest  the  sum  in  a  legitimate 
way  ?"  continued  the  young  man. 

Freddy  turned  to  Miss  Ashton.  "  He  do 
say  such  long  words,"  said  he. 

Miss  Ashton  explained  :  "  If  he  gives  you 
money  for  a  blacking-box,  will  you  promise 
to  buy  one,  and  nothing  else  ?" 

"  Oh,  yes,  sir  !"  cried  he,  joyfully. 

"  Well,  then,  my  young  friend,"  here  is  a 
dollar  for  your  blacking-box,  and  here  is 
fifty  cents  for  you  to  do  as  you  like  with. 
It  is  to  pay  you  for  carrying  the  bag,  for 
your  valuable  time,  and  for  the  damage 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  139 


done  to  your  feelings.  But  I  won't  let  you 
give  it  to  Romeo,  or  whatever  his  name  is." 

"Tonio!  Oh,  no!  I'll  keep  it  under  a 
board,  in  the  hall ;  Lisa  and  me'll  keep  it !" 

"  A  very  safe  and  excellent  method  of  in- 
vesting it,"  said  the  gentleman,  as  he  placed 
what  seemed  a  perfect  mine  of  wealth  in 
Freddy's  hands. 

"  Oh,  my  goody  !"  cried  he.  "  What  a 
jolly  lot  o'  money  !"  and  he  looked  grate- 
fully towards  Miss  Ash  ton.  "  Oh,  thank 
you,  ma'am  !" 

"  Why,  Freddy,"  said  she,  "  I  didn't  give 
it  to  you  —  you  must  thank  Mr.  Wilton 
for  it." 

Upon  which,  Freddy  thanked  him. 

"  But  he  did  it  for  you,  ma'am,"  said 
he.  "  I  mean  he  give  it  to  me  to  make 
you  glad." 

Freddy  wondered  why  Miss  Ashton's 
cheeks  suddenly  turned  so  rosy  red  ;  but 
at  that  instant,  the  engine-whistle  sounded. 
The  train  slackened  its  speed,  and  soon 


I4O  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


stopped  altogether,  and  our  party  got  out, 
Freddy  keeping  close  to  Miss  Ashton  to 
prevent  further  mistakes. 

They  were  hardly  off  the  steps  of  the  car 
when  the  engine  began  to  pant  again,  at 
first  slowly,  then  quicker  and  quicker,  and 
in  a  minute  the  long  train  was  whirled 
away,  rushing,  rumbling  and  rattling,  and 
Freddy  stood  watching  it  till  it  was  lost  to 
sight,  and  the  last  faint  sounds  died  in  the 
distance.  Then  how  quiet  everything  was ! 
He  turned  to  look  around  him. 

What  a  clean,  white,  silent,  beautiful  world 
this  was  to  which  he  had  been  brought.  The 
sun,  now  high  in  the  heavens,  made  every- 
thing sparkle  and  glitter  in  its  icy  sheath. 
Every  little  dried  fern  and  tall  blade  of 
feathery  grass  was  covered  with  crystal, 
and  sent  bright,  flashing  colors  directly 
into  Freddy's  eyes,  as  he  looked  around 
in  wonder.  The  sky  was  dazzling  in  its 
intense  blue,  and  the  ground  no  less  so, 
covered  with  purest  white.  The  tinkling 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  141 


fall  of  little  icicles  from  the  laden  boughs, 
or  the  crisp,  yet  soft  crackling  noise  made 
by  the  icy  branches  of  the  trees  as  they 
gently  moved  in  the  wind,  was  all  that 
broke  the  stillness,  till  a  far-off  factory-bell 
began  to  sound.  How  clearly  and  how 
sweetly  it  fell  on  Freddy's  ear,  and  then 
died  away.  He  thought  of  the  jangling, 
discordant  noise  he  heard  daily  from  hun- 
dreds of  bells  and  steam  -  whistles  in  the 
city,  at  noon,  and  of  the  incessant  roar  and 
rush  that  prevailed  there.  How  wonder- 
fully different  it  was  here.  The  stillness 
was  delightful,  but  almost  oppressive.  He 
felt  awed  by  it,  and  started  violently  when 
Miss  Ashton  broke  the  silence  by  asking 
him  what  he  was  thinking  about.  She  and 
Mr.  Wilton  had  been  watching  him  as  his 
bright  black  eyes  had  wandered  over  the 
snowy  scene  with  such  a  reverential,  won- 
dering, earnest  gaze. 

"  Do   you    like    it   here,    Freddy  ?"    she 
asked. 


142  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 

"  Oh,  yes,  ma'am  !  It's  ever  so  much 
nicer  than  the  city.  It's  so  quiet  and  still, 
like  as  it  was  up  to  God's  house.  The  city 
do  smell  so  abominable  !"  and  Freddy 
wrinkled  up  his  nose  at  the  rememb- 
rance. 

"  You  must  come  and  see  me  in  the  sum- 
mer, when  it  is  all  green,"  said  Miss  Ash- 
ton,  laughing.  "  I  live  in  that  brown  house 
over  there.  Don't  you  ever  go  in  the  coun- 
try with  your  fiddle,  in  summer?" 

"  No,  ma'am,"  said  Freddy,  but  inwardly 
resolved  that  he  would  do  so  as  soon  as  he 
was  his  own  master.  But  now  the  distant 
rush  of  an  approaching  train  was  heard, 
and  Freddy's  reveries  and  reflections  were 
broken  by  the  necessity  of  listening  to  Miss 
Ashton's  instructions  for  his  homeward 
journey.  She  gave  the  conductor  money 
to  pay  his  fare,  asked  him  to  keep  an  eye 
on  the  boy,  and  then  saw  him  safely  into 
the  proper  car.  A  minute  more  and  Fred- 
dy was  hurrying  back  to  his  home  ;  but,  as 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  143 


long  as  he  could,  he  kept  his  head  turned 
to  look  at  the  pretty,  smiling  face  of  Minnie 
Ashton. 


VIII. 

IT  was  not  long  before  Freddy  had  com- 
pleted a  bargain  with  a  boy  he  knew  for 
his  entire  blacking  establishment,  and 
proud  and  happy  was  he  that  night  when 
he  got  home  to  show  it  to  Lisa.  He  deter- 
mined to  say  nothing  about  it  to  Tonio  till 
he  could  show  him  the  glorious  results  of 
his  enterprise.  The  fifty  cents  were  safely 
stored  away  under  the  broken  board  in  the 
hall,  and  no  one  but  Lisa  suspected  the  hid- 
den treasure.  Freddy  had  told  her,  and,  in 
fact,  she  had  helped  him  to  hide  it ;  but  he 
knew  she  would  not  reveal  the  secret,  and 
so  that  great  amount  of  wealth  was  as 
secure  as  though  held  under  lock  and  key. 
It  had  troubled  Lisa  very  greatly  because 
she  knew  that  Freddy  always  kept  her 
penny  out  of  the  money  he  should  have 
(»44) 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  145 


handed  to  Tonio,  and  once  she  had  even 
gone  so  far  as  to  ask  him  not  to  buy  her  roll 
for  her.  But  Freddy  represented  that  he 
worked  for  the  money,  and  had  a  right  to 
some  of  it.  When  he  had  begun  this  prac- 
tice of  keeping  back  a  cent,  he  used  to 
deceive  Tonio,  and  tell  him  a  falsehood,  say- 
ing that  he  handed  to  him  all  that  he 
received.  Lisa  knew  he  did  so,  but  at  that 
time  she  did  not  care.  She  had  not  been 
taught  that  it  was  wrong  to  steal  and  tell 
lies.  Her  only  instructions  had  been  given 
in  the  shape  of  blows  when  she  was  caught 
doing  wrong,  and  they  were  given  in  anger 
and  vengeance,  not  with  the  desire  to  teach 
her  what  was  right.  But  since  Mr.  Brown- 
ing had  talked  to  her  so  kindly,  and  told 
her  of  the  love  that  God  felt  for  her,  and 
the  happiness  that  awaited  her  if  she  would 
do  his  will  and  be  his  child,  she  had  tried 
very  hard  to  be  good.  She  had  a  timid, 
shrinking  nature,  a  sensitive  conscience,  and 
an  earnest  longing  for  love.  In  her  own 
13 


146  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


simple  little  way,  she  hungered  and  thirst- 
ed for  righteousness.  No  sooner  had  she 
heard  what  was  required  of  her,  than  she 
tried  very  hard  to  fulfill  the  terms ; — easy 
terms  they  were  to  this  loving  ignorant 
child. 

Starved  and  beaten  and  cruelly  used  by 
the  woman  who  should  have  protected  her, 
she  turned  to  accept  the  only  love  she  knew. 
Oh,  how  easy  it  was  to  love !  Does  any 
child  reading  this  story  wonder  what  I 
mean,  and  think  it  strange  that  a  little, 
dirty,  ragged  girl,  who  could  not  even  read, 
who  had  been  brought  up  in  wickedness, 
should  dare  to  love  the  Great  God  ? 

Well,  I  must  tell  you  that  it  seems  a 
great  deal  stranger  to  me  that  so  many 
children  who  are  well  and  carefully  nurtur- 
*ed,  surrounded  by  loving  friends  and  all  the 
precious  gifts  of  God,  should  accept  them 
all  so  thoughtlessly,  should  rise  in  the 
morning  and  go  to  bed  at  night,  unmindful 
of  the  love  that  keeps  them  from  harm,  and 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  147 


never  once  stop  to  think  of  the  dear  Lord 
Jesus,  who  gave  his  life  for  them.  How 
clearly  he  loved  little  children!  Why 
should  it  be  strange  for  them  to  love  him  ? 
Lisa  found  it  neither  hard  nor  strange ;  it 
was  all  the  happiness  she  knew.  So,  as  she 
began  to  see  what  was  right  and  what  was 
wrong,  she  was  troubled  about  the  cent  that 
Freddy  kept  back  for  her.  Now,  therefore, 
when  he  told  her  that  he  intended  to  keep 
the  fifty  cents  for  her  bread,  she  was 
delighted. 

Fifty  cents  worth  of  rolls !  Fifty  suppers ! 
Why,  she  could  not  think  beyond  that!  It 
seemed  to  her  that  it  would  last  all  her  life- 
time. And  Freddy  felt  as  though  he  were 
treading  on  air  the  day  after  his  journey. 
He  could  hardly  walk  soberly  along  the 
street ;  indeed,  he  found  it  quite  impossible. 
He  felt  all  the  excitement  and  glory  of  a 
successful  business  career,  as  he  sallied  forth 
with  his  fiddle  under  his  arm  and  his  black- 
ing-box slung  over  his  shoulder.  Nothing 


148  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


but  the  fact  of  carrying  so  much  property 
about  him  prevented  him  from  standing  on 
his  head  at  every  lamp-post.  He  was 
obliged  to  let  off  steam  by  whooping  and 
yelling  as  he  danced  along  sideways,  imi- 
tating dogs,  cats,  and  engines,  and  occasion- 
ally representing  a  train  of  cars  rushing  at 
full  speed. 

He  had  paused  to  take  breath,  when  he 
was  hailed  by  the  conductor  of  a  street  car, 
which  was  just  starting  on  its  early  trip. 
Freddy  reached  it  in  three  bounds,  and 
swung  himself  on  to  the  platform. 

"  Shine  your  boots ! "  said  he  in  a  busi- 
ness-like way,  recognizing  the  very  con- 
ductor who  had  put  him  off  a  few  days  ago. 
Oh,  what  glory  this  was !  How  much  more 
important  he  was  than  he  had  been.  The 
conductor  seated  himself  leisurely  on  the 
rail  of  the  car,  and  put  out  his  foot,  which 
Freddy  seized,  and  began  such  a  rubbing 
and  spitting  and  polishing,  one  would  think 
he  had  been  brought  up  to  the  occupation. 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  149 


The  conductor's  toes  tingled  that  morning 
by  the  time  Freddy  was  half  through,  and 
he  ratber  objected  to  the  extra  polish  which 
was  so  enthusiastically  administered.  But 
Freddy  looked  at  the  two  big  feet  with  all 
the  delight  an  artist  feels  in  his  work. 

"  Shine  like  glass  bottles,  they  do,"  he  said 
in  a  delighted  tone.  As  he  caught  the  two 
five-cent  pieces  that  were  thrown  to  him,  he 
felt  much  happier  than  when  he  had  received 
the  gold-piece.  They  looked  to  him  like 
the  beginning  of  a  large  fortune,  and  he  re- 
placed his  brushes  in  his  box,  and  rode  along 
on  the  step  of  the  car,  feeling  that  he  could 
defy  the  fates,  now  that  he  carried  a  fiddle 
and  a  blacking-box.  The  world  was  divided 
into  two  classes,  in  Freddy's  mind — those 
who  wanted  music,  and  those  who  wanted 
boots  blacked. 

Agreeably  to  this  idea  he  was  not  in  the 
least  surprised  when,  on  leaving  the  step, 
he  was  again  hailed  by  a  gentleman  at  the 
corner  of  the  street.  The  "  Here,  boy!" 


150  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


which  was  accompanied  by  a  whistle,  was 
music  in  Freddy's  ears,  and  it  did  not  occur 
to  him  it  was  wonderfully  like  the  manner 
of  calling  a  dog.  He  started  and  ran  to 
the  corner,  but  not  before  another  boy  had 
heard  the  summons,  and  was  making  for  the 
same  spot  at  the  top  of  his  speed.  It  was 
the  work  of  a  minute  to  get  there,  but 
Freddy  knew  that  whoever  touched  the 
boot  first  had  the  job ;  the  other  must  re- 
tire at  once,  according  to  the  law  of  the 
boot-blacks.  His  short  legs  flew  over  the 
ground  with  incredible  speed,  and  he  flung 
himself  forward,  clasping  the  gentleman's 
boot  just  as  the  other  boy  brought  up  sud- 
denly with  a  force  which  jerked  him  over, 
and  he  fell  on  top  of  Freddy.  The  two 
struggled  for  an  instant,  but  Freddy  would 
not  let  go  of  the  foot,  notwithstanding  that 
the  gentleman  kicked  violently  to  rid  him- 
self of  the  disputants. 

"  I  got  it  first !"  cried  Freddy,  as  though 
that   muddy  boot  were   a  jewel  of  great 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  151 


price  ;  and  the  other  boy  was  obliged  to 
withdraw,  which  he  did,  muttering  oaths 
and  calling  Freddy  very  bad  names  indeed. 
The  voice  seemed  familiar,  and  Freddy  look- 
ed up  in  the  midst  of  his  brushing  and  rec- 
ognized Tom,  the  big  boy  who  had  sung 
in  the  chapel  and  laughed  at  Lisa. 

This  was  the  first  time  he  and  Freddy 
had  met  since  then,  for  he  had  been  sent 
away  from  the  institution,  and  not  reap- 
peared at  the  singing-class.  Freddy  felt 
that  he  was  in  for  a  fight,  but  knew  it  must 
be  postponed  till  the  boots  were  finished, 
so  kept  on  steadily  with  his  work,  whistling 
to  denote  carelessness  of  the  fact  that  Tom 
was  vowing  vengeance  at  his  elbow.  Sud- 
denly he  felt  a  twitch  and  a  jerk,  and  in  an 
instant  saw  Tom  running  off  with  his  fiddle 
and  bow,  which  he  had  laid  beside  him, 
resting  his  knee  lightly  on  it  for  safety.  In 
turning  to  get  a  brush  he  forgot  it,  and 
Tom  had  seized  it  and  was  off. 

With  a  wild  shout  he  jumped  up,  clutch- 


152  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


ed  his  box,  threw  in  his  brushes  hastily, 
never  waited  for  his  pay,  but  was  off  like 
an  arrow  shot  from  the  bow  in  pursuit  of 
Tom,  shouting,  "  Stop  thief!  stop  thief!" 
at  the  top  of  his  lungs.  Away  flew  the  boy, 
and  away  flew  Freddy  in  hot  chase,  and  was 
instantly  joined  by  a  crowd  of  boys,  who 
seemed  suddenly  to  spring  out  of  the  ground, 
so  instantaneous  was  their  appearance  on 
hearing  the  cry. 

"  Stop  thief !  stop  thief !"  resounded 
through  the  street  as  they  all  rushed  along 
pell  mell,  hardly  knowing  what  they  were 
after,  and  never  looking  where  they  went. 
Freddy  kept  on  well  in  advance  of  the  rest 
— his  legs  seemed  to  have  wings.  His  pre- 
cious fiddle  was  just  visible  at  times  about 
half  a  block  ahead  of  him,  but  he  was  gain- 
ing on  Tom  every  moment ;  he  thought  he 
would  surely  catch  him  at  the  next  corner. 

Suddenly  Tom  turned  aside,  and  darted 
down  a  side  s'reet.  For  an  instant  Freddy 
lost  sight  of  him,  but  he  dashed  down  the 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  153 


same  street,  with  the  crowd  after  him  ;  he 
was  nearly  wild  at  the  idea  of  losing  his 
fiddle,  and  tore  along,  panting  and  too 
breathless  to  cry  "stop  thief"  any  longer. 
Now,  Tom  had  taken  a  short  turn  into  an 
alley,  which  Freddy  had  not  seen  as  he  ran 
by,  and  there  he  stood  for  a  minute,  hidden 
by  a  large  wagon,  till  the  yelling  crowd  had 
rushed  past,  when  he  suddenly  ran  out  and 
joined  in  the  pursuit  apparently,  scream- 
ing "  stop  thief"  louder  than  any  one. 

By  this  time  the  policeman  became  aware 
of  the  trouble,  and  took  measures  to  put  a 
stop  to  it.  An  officer  stationed  himself  at 
the  next  turn,  and  just  as  Freddy,  who  was 
running  furiously  ahead  of  all  the  others, 
dashed  round  the  corner,  he  seized  him  by 
the  arm,  supposing  him  to  be  the  thief  run- 
ning from  his  pursuers.  Freddy  struggled 
violently,  but  could  not  shake  off  the  firm 
hold.  The  crowd  closed  around  him  in  a 
moment,  loudly  vociferating,  and  Tom's 
voice  rose  high  above  all  the  others. 


154  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


Freddy  was  stunned  by  his  sudden  cap- 
ture, and  he  was  too  breathless  to  speak, 
but  he  pointed  to  Tom,  and  gasped,  writh- 
ing in  the  officer's  grasp  in  the  frantic  de- 
sire to  get  hold  of  him  and  wrench  his  fid- 
dle from  him.  But  the  policeman,  without 
waiting  to  hear  the  merits  of  the  matter, 
began  to  march  Freddy  off  to  the  station- 
house,  which  was  near  at  hand.  The  crowd 
of  boys  followed,  jeering  and  calling  out 
insulting  things  to  him  as  he  was  dragged 
along,  resisting  every  inch  of  the  way. 

Tom  kept  at  his  side,  and  was  the  most 
aggravating  of  all.  In  vain  did  Freddy  try 
to  rush  at  him  ;  the  officer  held  him  tightly 
and  marched  him  off  briskly.  Poor  Fred- 
dy's breath  came  in  quick,  short  pants,  al- 
most like  sobs.  He  felt  as  if  his  chest 
would  burst,  and  seemed  to  taste  blood  in 
his  throat.  His  rapid  race  and  sudden 
check  had  been  almost  too  much  for  him, 
and  he  could  not  speak  one  word. 

Tom,  seeing  him  in  this  defenceless  state, 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  155 


thought  himself  quite  secure,  and  was  highly 
delighted  with  the  success  of  his  plan.  He 
continued  his  taunts  and  insults  till  they 
arrived  at  the  very  door  of  the  station-house, 
when  he  thought  it  would  be  safest  to  make 
off  with  all  possible  speed  ;  but,  the  officer 
relaxing  his  hold  somewhat,  Freddy,  with 
a  violent  jerk,  broke  from  him,  and,  before 
Tom  could  get  off,  he  had  rushed  at  him 
like  a  wild  beast,  and  knocked  him  down. 
And  now  a  desperate  struggle  ensued. 
The  two  boys  grappled,  wrestled,  hurled 
each  other  down,  wrenched  off  their  ragged 
jackets,  and  pulled  out  hair  from  each  oth- 
er's heads.  Oh,  it  was  a  terrible  fight,  I  can 
tell  you — much  more  like  two  dogs  than 
two  boys  possessed  of  reason.  The  officer, 
however,  put  a  stop  to  it  by  seizing  both 
and  shaking  what  breath  remained  out  of 
them,  and  then  half  led  and  half  dragged 
them  into  the  house.  Freddy's  head  whirled 
so  he  hardly  knew  if  he  were  standing  on 
it  or  his  feet. 


156  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


Tom  blubbered  and  whimpered,  and,  see- 
ing that  Freddy  could  not  speak,  told  the 
officers  that  he  had  stolen  his  blacking-box 
and  run  off  with  it. 

"  You  lie  !"  gasped  Freddy,  but  could  get 
no  further. 

Somebody  handed  him  a  glass  of  water, 
which  he  drank,  and  little  by  little  recov- 
ered himself.  But  he  saw  at  once  that 
everybody  believed  Tom.  None  of  those 
who  had  given  chase  had  the  least  idea  who 
they  had  been  pursuing  ;  they  had  merely 
joined  in  when  they  saw  others  running. 

The  officer  who  had  captured  Freddy  tes- 
tified that  he  was  in  advance  of  all  the  rest, 
and  seemed  to  be  the  thief,  and  that  Tom 
had  been  in  the  rear  of  the  crowd  when 
he  was  taken.  And  Tom  cried,  and  said 
that  Freddy  had  knocked  him  down  and 
taken  his  box  and  run  away  with  it.  The 
officers  were  all  very  rough  and  gruff,  and 
hardly  listened  to  Freddy,  and  it  is  proba- 
ble that  he  would  have  been  forced  to  hand 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  157 


over  the  blacking-box  to  Tom,  and  see 
him  go  off  triumphantly  with  that  and 
the  fiddle,  when  a  bright  idea  occurred  to 
him. 

"  Look  here  !"  said  he,  still  panting  for 
breath.  "  You  don't  b'leeve  me,  but  just 
wait.  I  say  that  fiddle  is  mine,  and  he 
hooked  it.  Now,  if  it's  his,  just  let's  hear 
him  play  on  it.  Come,  now  ;  that's  fair ! 
Make  him  give  us  a  tune." 

Tom  saw  that  he  was  caught,  for  he  never 
had  played  in  his  life.  He  turned  very  red, 
and  muttered  something  about  a  sore  hand  ; 
but  the  officers  began  to  laugh  and  clap 
Freddy  on  the  back  in  an  encouraging  \vay, 
and  public  opinion  began  to  veer  round  in 
his  direction. 

"  Make  him  play,"  cried  several  voices, 
and  Tom  was  told  to  begin  his  performance. 
He  took  the  bow  and  tried  to  scrape  it  on 
the  fiddle,  but  everybody  laughed  at  his 
ludicrous  attempts  and  queer  faces.  Freddy 
stood  by  watching  with  great  anxiety,  and, 


158  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


when  he  saw  Tom's  discomfiture,  he  gave 
a  little  shout  of  triumph,  and,  seizing  his 
fiddle,  played  his  liveliest  jig,  as  though 
new  life  had  been  given  him.  In  the  excite- 
ment he  forgot  his  weariness. 

But  Tom  had  his  bright  ideas  too,  though 
they  were  wicked  ones ;  and  he  now  de- 
clared that  the  fiddle  was  his  brother's — 
that  he 'was  carrying  it  to  his  brother — that 
he  didn't  know  how  to  play  on  it,  but  it  was 
his  for  all  that ;  at  least,  it  was  his  brother's, 
and  he  was  "  a-takin'  it  to  him." 

Freddy  was  aghast  at  this  statement,  but, 
looking  round  the  room,  to  see  what  im- 
pression it  made,  he  caught  sight  of  a  face 
he  knew.  There  stood  the  officer  who  had 
arrested  Ellen,  the  very  one  who  had  said 
he  would  know  Freddy  when  he  met  him 
again.  Freddy  ran  up  to  him. 

"I  say!"  he  cried.  "You  said  you'd 
know  me  again.  Don't  you  remember? 
I'm  the  boy  that  gave  you  the  gold-piece 
t'other  day.  I  had  my  fiddle  with  me  then. 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  Ig9 

You  saw  it.  Won't  you  tell  'em  so  ?  May- 
be they'll  b'leeve  you." 

The  officer  thus  addressed  turned  and 
looked  at  Freddy,  and  asked  what  the  mat- 
ter was.  When  it  was  explained  to  him,  he 
walked  up  to  Tom  and  gave  him  a  shaking 
that  made  his  teeth  chatter. 

"  You  young  rascal !"  said  he.  "  Tell  the 
truth  this  moment.  I  know  that  fiddle  be- 
longs to  that  boy.  How  did  you  get  it?" 

Tom,  nearly  as  breathless  from  his  shak- 
ings as  Freddy  had  been  from  running, 
could  only  cry  and  dig  his  knuckles  into 
his  eyes,  and  shuffle  his  feet  uneasily  on  the 
floor,  and  hang  down  his  head.  Then  the 
officer  told  the  others  the  story  of  Freddy's 
returning  the  gold-piece,  and  that  he  had 
seen  him  at  that  time  with  his  fiddle. 

Freddy's  character  was  now  established, 
and  the  fiddle  was  restored  to  him.  Tom 
was  told  to  take  himself  off,  and  behave  him- 
self, or  it  would  go  harder  with  him  in  the 
future.  He  slunk  away,  followed  by  the 


160  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


boys  who  had  waited  to  hear  the  conclusion 
of  the  matter,  and  who  so  twitted  and  tor- 
mented him  that  he  was  glad  to  run  away, 
to  escape  from  them. 

Freddy  received  much  good  advice  from 
his  officer  friend,  while  he  blacked  his  boots 
with  a  vigor  inspired  by  gratitude. 

"  You  see  the  value  of  a  good  character," 
said  he.  "  If  I  hadn't  known  you  had  been 
honest,  the  other  day,  I  couldn't  have  done 
much  for  you,  for  appearances  were  against 
you.  Now,  as  to  that  Tom,  we  all  know 
he  is  a  scamp,  and  shall  not  let  him  off  an- 
other time  so  easily.  He's  earned  a  bad 
reputation  by  his  tricks.  Now  that  you 
have  a  good  one,  see  that  you  keep  it. 
'  Honesty  is  the  best  policy  !'  Remember 
that." 

Freddy  was  very  glacl  to  know  that  he 
held  a  good  character,  but  he  remembered 
how  very  much  he  had  wanted  to  keep  the 
gold-piece. 

"  If  it  hadn't  been  for  Lisa,  I  never  should 


•IDDLIXG   FREDDY.  l6l 


have  took  it  back,"  he  said  to  himself.  "  I 
wonder  why  she  wanted  me  to  take  it  back 
so  much." 

He  asked  her  the  question  that  evening, 
after  relating  his  day's  adventures. 

"  I  don't  know  why,  Freddy,"  she  an- 
swered, "  'cept  that  Mr.  Browning  said 
you'd  oughter ;  and  ever  since  I  know'd 
God  loved  us,  I've  kinder  wanted  to  do 
what  we'd  oughter,  so  as  he'll  let  us  go  live 
with  Him  bimeby,  you  know.  I  guess  we 
don't  know  much  how  to  be  good,  but  Mr. 
Browning  said  if  we'd  try  hard,  that  would 
please  Him,  an'  I  try,  'cause  I  do  want  to 
go  up  to  the  sky  so  much  to  live  with  Him." 
And  Lisa  raised  her  little  thin  hand,  and 
pointed  to  the  beautiful  bright  star.  "  That's 
where  he  is — Jesus,  you  know  ;  him  as  loves 
us." 

Little  ignorant  Lisa  had  learned  a  lesson 
that  many  of  the  rich  and  great  of  earth 
have  failed  to  get  by  heart.  She  had  found 
out  the  reason  for  doing  right  and  leading 


l62  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


a  good  life — not  because  honesty  is  the.  fast 
policy,  as  the  policeman  had  told  Freddy — 
not  because  to  bear  a  good  character  helps 
us  along  to  a  good  position  in  the  world. 
It  is  true  that  all  this  is  necessary  to  our 
earthly  happiness,  but  .Lisa  knew  a  higher 
motive  than  this.  "  If  ye  love  me,  keep 
my  commandments,"  said  the  holy  Saviour, 
whom  Lisa  loved,  because  he  first  loved  her. 


IX. 

THE  long,  dreary  winter  came  to  an 
end,  and  Freddy  began  to  rejoice  in 
the  brighter  sun  and  milder  air  of  spring. 
He  was  delighted  to  see  the  high  snow- 
banks gradually  melting,  and,  when  three 
warm  days  had  actually  converted  them 
into  rushing  streams  of  dirty  water,  he 
splashed  about  joyfully  in  the  gutter  with 
his  bare  feet,  and  was  perfectly  happy  sail- 
ing chip -boats  and  building  bridges  and 
dams  with  old  shoes. 

A  country  boy  would  scarcely  recognize 
a  city  snow-bank,  it  is  such  a  different  affair 
from  the  white,  glistening  heap  to  which  he 
is  accustomed.  In  the  country  the  snow 
lies  quietly  where  it  has  fallen,  and  the 
spring  sun  turns  it  into  clear  water,  that 

dances  off  in  little,  sparkling  rivulets,  bright 
(163) 


164  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 

and  blue  with  the  reflection  of  the  sun 
and  sky  ;  but  in  the  city,  as  soon  as  the 
snow  falls,  it  is  attacked  by  men  and  boys 
with  shovels,  who  hurry  to  get  it  off  the 
sidewalks,  and  pile  it  up  by  the  side  of  the 
street.  There  it  freezes,  in  great,  irregular 
heaps,  solid  enough  to  hold  all  the  refuse 
that  is  thrown  upon  them  from  the  houses 
in  the  poorer  parts  of  the  city.  Before 
long,  not  a  trace  of  white  is  to  be  seen,  and 
the  snow-bank  like  a  collection  of  old  cab- 
bage-ends, ragged  shoes,  dirty  dish-water, 
dead  kittens,  and  potato-parings. 

Freddy  thought  it  was  splendid  to  sec 
the  heap  melt,  and  go  rushing  down  the 
gutter ;  and  he  did  not  mind  a  dead  kitten 
or  two  any  more  than  you  or  I  would  a 
loosened  root  of  violets  on  a  clear  stream. 
He  begged  Tonio  to  leave  his  cold,  dull 
room,  and  to  come  and  sit  on  the  sunny 
door -step,  declaring  that  it  was  bully  out 
of  doors ;  but  poor  Tonio  was  too  weak  to 
go  up  and  down  stairs  now,  and  he  only 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  165 


sighed  wearily,  and  looked  out  of  the  win- 
dow. 

Notwithstanding  Freddy's  prophecy  — 
that  he  would  be  all  right  in  the  spring, 
when  the  sun  was  warm  —  he  had  grown 
steadily  worse.  All  the  big  medicine  bot- 
tles which  Freddy  brought  him  failed  to 
perform  the  wonderful  cure  they  promised 
on  their  bright  wrappers,  and  Tonio  was  a 
dying  man,  though  Freddy  did  not  know 
it.  He  was  in  capital  spirits,  for  his  busi- 
ness was  prospering  finely.  There  were 
quantities  of  boots  to  be  blacked,  and  it 
was  really  delicious  to  see  the  streets  in 
such  a  fearful  condition.  Freddy  hoped  it 
would  be  a  long  time  before  they  became 
clean.  He  had  as  much  as  he  could  do 
now,  and  blacked  boots  till  his  arms  ached  ; 
but  the  money-bag  grew  heavier  and  heav- 
ier, and  he  felt  that  he  should  be  a  rich  man, 
if  the  streets  would  only  always  be  muddy. 

He  left  his  fiddle  behind  him  now  ;  there 
was  no  time  to  play  on  it,  and  his  expe- 


166  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


rience  with  Tom  had  made  him  cautious. 
But  all  things  change — which  is  a  comfort- 
ing reflection,  when  they  go  crooked,  but 
not  so  much  when  all  is  prosperous.  With 
a  sigh  Freddy  watched  the  streets  drying 
up  and  becoming  dusty.  At  last  he  saw  a 
man  one  day  take  out  his  pocket-handker- 
chief and  dust  off  his  own  boots. 

"  Mean  fellow  !"  said  Freddy  to  himself, 
with  a  look  of  scorn.  "  Calls  himself  a  gen- 
tleman, too,  I  dessay." 

But  he  knew  by  this  sign  that  his  black- 
ing business  must  henceforth  decline,  and 
he  determined  once  more  to  try  his  luck 
with  his  fiddle.  People  no  longer  hurried 
by  with  their  hands  in  their  pockets  ;  they 
sauntered  more  slowly,  and  looked  better- 
natured.  So,  one  bright,  sunny  day,  he 
tuned  up  his  fiddle,  flourished  his  bow,  and 
set  out  on  a  long  tramp  to  the  Park,  where 
he  knew  he  should  find  an  admiring  audi- 
ence of  children. 

There  they  were,  to  be  sure,  in  quanti- 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  l6/ 


ties,  big  and  little,  trundling  hoops,  running 
races,  dragging  toy  carts  after  them,  hang- 
ing on  to  their  nurses'  dresses,  or  sitting  in 
pretty  little  wheeled  carriages,  as  they  were 
pushed  along  the  gravel -paths.  Freddy 
took  his  stand  and  played  merrily.  A  lit- 
tle crowd  soon  gathered  around  him,  en- 
joying his  music,  and  looking  with  mingled 
admiration  and  wonder  at  his  extraordinary 
dancing.  He  could  not  resist  a  few  extra 
jerks  and  flings  this  morning,  and  he  wheel- 
ed about  and  jumped  about  and  danced  Jim 
Crow  generally,  occasionally  varying  his 
performance  by  standing  on  his  head,  which 
was  a  figure  of  the  dance  highly  approved 
of  by  his  young  friends,  who  clapped  their 
hands  and  greeted  him  with  shrill  cheers 
when  he  came  right  side  up,  and  once  more 
stood  erect  before  his  fellow-boys. 

I  cannot  conscientiously  call  him  a  grace- 
ful dancer,  but  the  children  admired  him 
greatly,  and  did  not  grudge  their  pennies. 
He  made  more  than  he  had  for  a  great 


1 68  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


while  ;  even  more  than  the  man  who  sold 
balloons  and  bag-pipes,  and  almost  as  much 
as  the  candy-woman.  There  was  a  little 
four-year  old  boy  in  the  Park,  whose  nurse 
became  so  absorbed  in  conversation  with  a 
friend,  that  she  paid  no  attention  to  his  re- 
peated requests  that  she  should  take  him  to 
hear  "  the  muthick  ;"  so  at  last  he  slipped 
away  from  her  and  joined  the  circle  of 
Freddy's  patrons.  But  Freddy  by  this  time 
was  preparing  to  move  on,  and  he  shoul- 
dered his  fiddle,  and  marched  off,  not  know- 
ing that  the  little  boy  was  following  him. 
At  last  he  stopped  again  and  commenced 
to  play  for  a  fresh  audience. 

The  little  boy  took  his  stand  directly  in 
front  of  him,  where  he  remained  as  solemn 
as  a  judge,  looking  at  him  with  an  air  of 
absorbed  interest,  his  fat  little  legs  planted 
firmly  and  widely  apart,  and  with  air  of  im- 
movability that  was  very  funny.  One  group 
of  listeners  succeeded  another,  and  still  he 
remained,  while  the  careless  nurse,  now 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  169 


left  far  behind,  continued  her  conversation 
quietly,  supposing  that  he  was  still  by  her 
side.  At  last  the  other  children  all  ran  off 
to  play,  and  Freddy,  stopping  to  rest  his 
arm,  looked  around  and  saw  him. 

"  Hallo,  little  short  and  fat,  where  did  you 
blow  from  ?"  he  asked.  This  address,  some- 
what abruptly  made,  seemed  to  rouse  the 
child  to  a  sense  of  his  position.  Looking 
about  him  and  seeing  no  friendly  face,  he 
began  to  cry. 

"  Maggie  !"  he  called,  but  no  Maggie  was 
there  to  answer. 

"  Whereth  Maggie  ?"  he  asked  Freddy. 

"  Oh,  she's  married  the  policeman,  and 
gone  up  in  a  balloon,"  answered  he. 

This  was  not  a  comforting  answer.  The 
little  fellow  sat  down  flat  on  the  ground 
and  cried  bitterly,  calling  Maggie  in  such 
a  piteous  tone,  that  Freddy  turned  back  as 
he  was  about  to  walk  away,  and  saw  that 
he  was  entirely  alone,  a  fact  he  had  not 
noticed  till  then. 
15 


I/O  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


"  Lost  your  ma  ?"  he  asked. 

"  I  want  Maggie — whereth  Maggie  ?"  re- 
plied the  sobbing  child. 

"  Well,  now,  that's  the  meanest  thing  I 
ever  did  see  !"  exclaimed  Freddy,  "  to  go 
and  let  a  little  chap  like  you  off  all  by  your- 
self. Come  along  with  me,  and  we'll  find 
Maggie  ;  and  looker  here,  when  we  do,  just 
you  put  in,  and  punch  her  head  for  losing 
of  you,  will  you  ?"  So  saying,  he  took  him 
by  the  hand  to  lead  him  along,  and  he,  look- 
ing up  into  Freddy's  face,  trotted  along  fear- 
lessly by  his  side. 

Unfortunately  for  them,  they  took  the 
wrong  path,  one  which  led  directly  away 
from  the  nurse,  who  by  this  time  had  discov- 
ered the  loss  of  her  charge,  and  was  running 
about  looking  for  him,  and  growing  more 
and  more  distracted  every  minute.  Fredd}T 
passed  many  a  nurse,  and  he  stopped  by 
every  one,  hoping  it  might  be  Maggie ; 
but  the  little  boy  only  shook  his  head,  and 
said  : 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  171 


"  No,  that'th  not  Maggie."  At  last,  per- 
fectly tired  out,  he  sat  down  and  refused  to 
move.  "  Me  tired,"  was  all  he  would  say  ; 
nor  would  he  obey  Freddy's  injunctions  to 
get  up  and  come  along. 

"  But  I  can't  stay  here  all  day,  young 
hoopen-scoopel !"  cried  Freddy,  beginning 
to  lose  patience,  for  he  was  too  tired,  and 
wanted  to  get  home. 

"Me  not  hoopy - thcoopy  —  me  Willie," 
said  the  child,  objecting  to  the  honorary 
title  bestowed  on  him  by  Freddy. 

"Well,  come  along  then,  Willie.  If  you 
want  to  get  Maggie,  it's  time  we  were  mov- 
ing." 

"  Can't.  Me  tired,"  was  his  answer.  He 
seemed  to  be  perfectly  at  his  ease,  now  that 
some  one  had  him  in  charge,  and  evidently 
had  not  the  least  fear  that  Maggie  would 
remain  long  away. 

But  Freddy  became  very  uneasy  ;  he  did 
not  know  what  to  do.  He  felt  that  he  could 
not  leave  the  child  entirely  alone  ;  yet  it 


FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


was  getting  late,  for  many  hours  had  slip- 
ped away  since  he  entered  the  Park.  He 
was  tired  and  hungry,  and  wondered,  with 
dismay,  what  he  should  do  with  Willie,  if  he 
could  not  find  his  nurse.  It  certainly  was 
provoking  of  the  child  to  be  so  perfectly  at 
case,  he  thought,  while  he  was  so  perplexed ; 
but  Willie  had  a  stolid,  solemn  little  way 
with  him  that  was  very  funny,  and  his  queer 
lisp  amused  Freddy,  who  felt  inclined  to 
humor  him,  although  he  found  it  somewhat 
hard  to  accede  to  all  his  whims.  They  had 
walked  a  long  way,  and  Willie  was  really 
tired,  and  nothing  that  Freddy  could  say 
would  induce  him  to  move. 

"  Play  more  muthick,"  said  he. 

"•Will  you  come  along,  if  I  will?"  asked 
Freddy,  thinking  he  could  coax  him. 

"  Yeth,  me  will,"  was  the  satisfactory 
reply,  and  Freddy  played  a  tune. 

"  Now,  danth  thome  more,"  was  the  next 
order. 

"  No,  I  won't,"  cried  Freddy  ;  "  I'm  tired 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  173 


too.  Come.  You  must  come  !  "  But  Willie 
hung  back. 

"You  mutht  cally  me,  then,"  said  he. 

Poor  Freddy  saw  no  help  for  it.  This 
dreadful  child  had  already  become  his 
tyrant.  He  stooped  and  raised  him,  and 
then  went  staggering  under  his  load,  with 
his  fiddle  and  bow  sticking  out  under  one 
arm,  as  he  tried  to  clasp  the  child,  who 
seemed  to  grow  heavier  every  moment,  like 
the  little  old  man  of  the  sea. 

"  I  tell  you  what,  I  can't  stand  this  long," 
gasped  Freddy.  "  If  you  was  solid  gold, 
and  all  my  own,  I  don't  believe  I  could  lug 
you  home.  I'll  take  you  to  a  pleeceman." 
But  at  this  Willie  set  up  such  a  howl,  with 
his  mouth  close  to  Freddy's  ear,  that  he  was 
almost  deafened. 

"  Oh,  don't  take  me  to  the  pleethman — oh, 
don't,  don't !  "  he  screamed.  "  Pleethmen  ith 
bad;  they  wip  little  boyth  till  the  bleed 
comth,"  he  sobbed,  and  then  screamed  again, 
till  Freddy  felt  as  if  he  must  shake  him. 


1/4  FIDDLING    FREDDY. 


'  Well,  stop  your  bellowing,  and  I  won't 
take  you,  then,"  said  he  ;  "  though  I  know 
I'd  oughter,  for  they'd  get  you  home  some- 
how, I  guess." 

But  Willie  had  been  too  often  frightened 
by  his  nurse,  who  had  used  the  threat  to 
him,  when  naughty,  that  she  would  call  the 
police-officer,  and  the  mere  sight  of  one  in 
the  distance  was  enough  to  throw  him  into 
a  frenzy  of  fear. 

The  prospects  of  meeting  Maggie  seemed 
to  grow  fainter,  as  they  had  strayed  into  a 
retired  path,  which  was  a  very  lonely  one, 
and  they  no  longer  met  any  one.  Freddy 
staggered  on  bravely,  thinking  every  min- 
ute that  they  would  come  to  a  turn  which 
would  bring  them  out  on  to  a  thoroughfare. 
Willie,  having  screamed  almost  all  the 
breath  out  of  his  body,  now  began  to  grow 
sleepy.  His  head  nodded,  and  nodded,  and 
finally  dropped  on  to  Freddy's  shoulder — 
he  was  fast  asleep. 

"Well,    I    never!"    said    Freddy,  in   an 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  1 75 


exasperated  tone.  "  If  this  isn't  the  provok- 
ingest  young  one." 

He  could  walk  no  farther,  for  his  strength 
was  all  gone,  and  he  fairly  dropped  at  the 
root  of  a  tree,  and  leaned  back  against  the 
trunk  panting. 

"  Now  I  wonder  how  long  I've  got  to 
stay  here?"  he  sighed.  "Oh,  dear,  I'm 
awful  tired!  I'll  ride  home,  anyhow,  for  I 
can't  walk  so  far  and  I've  made  a  lot  to-day." 

He  took  off  the  little  greasy  money-bag 
which  hung  round  his  neck,  and  counted  his 
day's  earnings.  He  had  more  than  a  dollar. 

"  Pretty  good,"  said  he,  as  he  replaced 
the  bag.  "  Yes,  I'll  ride  home ;  but  when 
on  earth  I'll  ever  get  there,  with  this  young 
one  to  see  to,  I'm  sure  I  don't  know.  He'll 
have  to  walk  when  he  wakes  up,  my  arms 
ache  so,  lugging  him.  He's  a  pretty  little 
chap,"  he  thought  as  he  looked  at  the  curly 
head  nestled  so  confidingly  on  his  arm.  "  I 
wonder  where  he  do  live,  and  how  I'll  ever 
get  him  home  ?  " 


FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


Willie  shivered  as  he  looked  at  him,  for 
the  afternoon  was  growing  chilly  and  damp. 

"  Poor  little  chap,  he's  cold.  I  'spose 
he's  used  to  being  kept  warm  with  lots  of 
blankets.  Shouldn't  wonder  if  he's  always 
fed  with  a  gold  spoon.  Now  I  wonder  why 
I  didn't  belong  to  rich  folks,  and  have  gold 
spoons  and  blankets  too." 

As  he  thought  this  he  gently  shifted  the 
child's  position,  so  that  he  could  draw  his 
arms  out  of  his  own  ragged  jacket,  which 
he  wrapped  round  Willie,  who  cuddled 
closer  to  him,  and  drew  deep,  long  breaths. 

"  He's  about  as  badly  off  as  I  be  now,  any- 
way," continued  Freddy,  "for  he's  cold  and 
hungry,  and  glad  of  my  old  jacket.  Maybe 
'tain't  so  awful  good  to  be  rich  after  all ; " 
and  he  hugged  the  child  closer  to  keep  him 
warm,  and  forgot  how  provoking  he  had 
been,  and  how  heavy  to  carry. 

They  sat  in  this  way  nearly  an  hour,  and 
Freddy  was  getting  very  drowsy  himself, 
when  footsteps  suddenly  approached,  and 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  177 


he  heard  loud  voices,  in  eager  conversation, 
drawing  nearer  and  nearer.  In  another 
minute,  Freddy  saw  a  lady  and  a  policeman 
hastening  along  the  path,  in  his  direction. 
He  made  up  his  mind  to  ask  them  what  he 
had  better  do,  and  as  they  came  near,  he 
called  out : 

"  I  say !  beg  pardon,  but  will  you  hold  on 
for  a  minute  ?  " 

Thus  addressed,  they  turned  and  looked 
at  him  ;  the  lady  started  violently,  gave  one 
bound  to  his  side,  and  snatched  the  sleeping 
child  from  him. 

"  Here  he  is !  "  she  cried.  "  Oh,  Willie, 
Willie,  WILLIE  !  "  and  down  she  went  on 
the  grass,  hugging  and  kissing  the  child  as 
if  she  had  gone  crazy. 

"  Is  he  her  boy  ?  "  asked  Freddy,  taken 
greatly  by  surprise  at  the  sudden  change  in 
the  state  of  affairs. 

"  Yes ;  and  we've  been  hunting  for  him 
more  than  an  hour,"  answered  the  officer. 

Then  Freddy  learned  that  the  nurse,  after 


178  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


an  unsuccessful  search  for  Willie,  had  gone 
homeland  confessed  that  she  had  lost  him, 
and,  ever  since,  all  his  family  had  been 
hunting  for  him,  far  and  near,  in  the  Park. 
The  lady  talked  very  rapidly,  and  seemed 
to  be  in  a  great  state  of  excitement. 

"  And  so,  here  he  is,  after  all,  poor  dar- 
ling !  precious  little  toady  woady  !  and  you 
got  him,  did  you?  How  did  you  get  him, 
I  wonder?  Tell  me,  quick;  and  was  he 
crying  his  eyes  out  for  mamma?  and,  oh 
dear !  I  know  he's  caught  his  death  of  cold, 
and  he'll  die,  to-night,  of  croup  ;  and  what's 
your  name,  little  boy  ?  Oh,  a  fiddle  !  You're 
a  fiddling  boy,  to  be  sure,  and  you  found 
Willie;  and  where  did  you  find  him?  Oh! 
that  horrid  Maggie !  and  what's  this  dread- 
ful little  thing  round  him  ?  oh,  horrid ! 
Why,  it's  your  jacket — how  lovely!  And 
you  took  it  off  to  keep  him  warm !  I'll  give 
you  a  new  one ;  come  home  with  me  and 
get  it.  Oh,  dear !  But,  I  hope  you  haven't 
any  dreadful  disease,  boy !  Oh,  yes !  I'm 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  179 


sure  you  have,  and  Willie  will  get  it.  Oh, 
how  horrible !  My  poor  precious  popetiny  ! 
But,  you're  a  good  boy,  a  very  nice  boy ; 
are  you  sure  you  haven't  got  the  small-pox  ? 
Oh,  my  goodness  gracious." 

Freddy  was  bewildered  by  this  outburst 
— as  well  he  might  be  ;  he  tried  to  answer 
the  questions,  but  she  gave  him  no  time. 
Now  that  she  was  out  of  breath,  however, 
she  paused,  and  Freddy  said : 

"  No,  ma'am,  I  ain't  got  nothing  as  I 
knows  of,  but  I'd  like  to  take  my  jacket 
and  get  home." 

"  Oh,  to  be  sure !  "  again  burst  forth  the 
lady.  "  Yes,  of  course.  Here's  your  jacket 
— bless  me,  what  a  rag !  Come  and  see  me 
to-morrow,  and  I'll  give  you  one  of 
Georgie's.  Yes,  that'll  be  perfectly  lovely. 
Georgie's  just  .your  size  ;  yes,  to  be  sure. 
Oh,  how  I  wish  I'd  brought  my  money — 
came  out  in  such  a  hurry,  you  know.  Oh, 
my  dear  Willie,  my  precious  little  toosy 
loosy  poosy,  how  could  you  run  away  from 


180  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 

Maggie,  and  go  and  get  lost,  and  wrapped 
up  in  a  fiddling-jacket?  Here,  take  your 
jacket,  boy.  What  did  you  say  your  name 
was — Peter  ?  Very  nice  name  ;  very  nice 
boy,  I'm  sure.  Police,  can't  you  lend  me  a 
shilling  for  Peter?  I'll  pay  you  to-morrow. 
Come  to  my  house,  to-morrow,  and  get 
your  jacket." 

So  saying,  the  excited  lady  got  off  the 
grass,  with  Willie  in  her  arms,  and,  just 
then,  her  husband  appeared  and  joined  her 
and  she  began  a  voluble  account  of  the 
finding  of  Willie,  during  which  the  officer 
walked  off,  followed  slowly  by  Freddy,  who 
wanted  to  ask  where  she  lived,  but  could 
not  find  a  chance,  as  the  gentleman  took 
Willie  and  walked  in  an  opposite  direction, 
while  she  never  stopped  talking,  and  Fred- 
dy heard  her  voice  till  they  turned  the  cor- 
ner and  it  was  lost  in  the  distance. 

The  officer  did  not  offer  the  shilling 
to  Freddy  as  she  had  suggested,  and, 
with  weary  legs  and  aching  arms,  he 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  l8l 


made  his  way  out  of  the  Park  to  a  street 
car,  and  was  soon  jingling  along  toward 
his  home. 

16 


X. 


"  /~\H,   Freddy!"    cried    Lisa,    meeting 

\~-s  him  at  the  door  on  his  return, 
"  Tonio's  dead  !" 

"  What !"  he  exclaimed,  aghast,  "  Tonio 
dead  !" 

Then  Lisa  told  him  how  poor  Tonio  had 
had  a  sudden  hemorrhage  of  his  lungs, 
and  had  died  almost  instantly.  "  It  wasn't 
more  than  an  hour  after  you  went  out,"  she 
added. 

Freddy  felt  a  sickness  creeping  over  him, 
and  he  leaned  against  the  door  for  support. 
This  was  a  terrible  shock  to  him. 

"  Are  you  sick  ?"  asked  Lisa,  frightened 
at  his  white  face. 

"  I  feel  queer,"  said  Freddy,  faintly.  "  Let 
me  alone  a  minute." 

He  sat  down  on  the  door-sill,  and  put  his 
(182) 


FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


head  between  his  hands,  and  bowed  it  on 
his  knees.  He  wondered  what  was  the  mat- 
ter with  him.  What  a  dull,  heavy  aching 
there  was  at  his  heart.  Yet  he  had  not 
known  that  he  loved  Tonio  ;  he  did  not 
think  he  had  ever  done  so.  He  used  to  be 
afraid  of  him,  not  very  long  ago,  when  he 
trotted  behind  his  organ,  and  was  sworn  at 
and  scolded  by  him,  and  often  even  struck 
or  beaten.  But  lately  Tonio  had  been  very 
gentle  and  kind. 

He  had  liked  to  hear  Freddy's  account  of 
his  day's  work,  and  would  often  sit  up  in 
bed  and  show  him  how  to  play  a  new  tune 
on  his  fiddle  ;  or  he  would  tell  him,  in  a 
weak  voice,  stories  of  his  own  young  life, 
in  which  Freddy  had  been  greatly  interest- 
ed. In  fact,  Tonio  in  his  illness  had  become 
much  attached  to  this  cheerful,  bright-eyed 
boy,  who  worked  so  willingly  for  him.  Now 
that  he  was  dead,  Freddy  forgot  all  his  harsh 
treatment,  and  remembered  only  that  he 
had  sheltered  and  protected  him  as  long  as 


1 84  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


he  could  remember;  for  Freddy  was  the 
child  of  a  friend  who  had  died,  and  Tonio 
had  given  him  a  home,  such  as  it  was. 
Freddy's  heart  ached  sorely,  and,  as  the 
days  went  on,  it  grew  heavier  and  heavier. 
It  was  so  strange  to  come  home  at  night  to 
an  empty  room  ;  it  was  so  sad  to  look  at 
the  bed  where  Tonio  had  lain  so  long,  and 
not  see  him  there.  He  had  worked  hard 
all  for  Tonio,  and,  now  that  he  was  gone, 
he  felt  as  if  he  could  hardly  work  at  all. 
The  warm  spring  days  made  him  feel  sor- 
rowful, and  took  away  his  strength,  too, 
and  he  became  despondent  and  miserable. 

If  it  had  not  been  for  Lisa,  he  would  have 
been  very  desolate.  Poor  child  !  he  was 
only  nine  years  old,  yet  he  was  all  alone  in 
the  world,  and  dependent  upon  his  own  ex- 
ertions for  support.  But  this  fact  did  not 
trouble  him.  He  knew  that  he  could  do 
very  well  as  long  as  he  had  his  fiddle.  But 
he  soon  found  out  that  Tonio  had  been  of 
more  service  to  him,  even  when  sick,  than 


PIDDLING   FREDDY.  1 8s 


he  had  supposed  ;  for  as  long  as  he  was 
alive,  no  one  had  dared  to  interfere  with 
him.  But  now  every  one  in  the  house 
seemed  to  think  they  had  a  right  to  his 
services.  He  was  known  to  be  a  smart, 
active  boy,  who  could  make  money,  and 
Tito's  father  insisted  upon  it  that  he  should 
join  his  band  of  musicians.  But  Freddy 
stoutly  declared  he  would  not.  He  said 
he  could  take  care  of  himself;  he  had  no 
idea  of  handing  all  the  money  he  made 
over  to  another.  Then  the  men  said  he 
should  not  eat  with  them  any  longer,  and 
turned  him  out  of  the  room.  This  was  a 
great  inconvenience,  for  he  could  not  afford 
to  buy  his  meals,  and  have  them  cooked 
only  for  himself.  Then  Sally  refused  to 
wash  his  clothes  ;  but  this,  I  grieve  to  say, 
did  not  trouble  him  at  all. 

But  he  was  very  indignant  when  he  found 
that  the  men  had  .divided  Tonio's  clothes 
among  them,  and  had  not  left  him  one  sin- 
gle suit,  for  his  own  were  mere  rags  and 
1 6* 


1 86  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


tatters,  and  Tonio  had  promised  to  have  an 
old  patched  suit  cut  over  for  him. 

The  next  blow  came  from  Sally,  who  de- 
clared that  Tonio  owed  her  ten  dollars,  and, 
though  Freddy  knew  this  to  be  false,  he 
could  not  prevent  her  taking  his  bed  and 
all  the  poor  furniture  of  his  little  attic  room. 
Moreover,  she  would  not  cook  a  meal,  or 
allow  him  a  shelter  for  which  he  paid,  un- 
less he  performed  just  so  much  work  daily 
for  her,  and  every  day  this  work  was  made 
harder  and  lasted  longer,  so  that  after  a  while 
he  had  no  time  to  go  out  with  his  fiddle. 
Of  course  he  made  no  money  this  way,  and 
was  obliged  to  resort  to  his  hidden  sum, 
which  he  had  resolved  to  keep  entirely  for 
Lisa's  use. 

Sally  drank  more  than  ever  now,  and  was 
more  brutal  even  than  she  had  formerly 
been  in  her  treatment  of  poor  little  Lisa, 
and  now  she  included.  Freddy,  and  gave 
him  many  a  beating  when  she  was  drunk. 
But  he  bore  it  manfully,  knowing  that  every 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  l8/ 


blow  he  received  saved  Lisa.  But  this  state 
of  things  broke  the  poor  little  boy's  spirit. 
Instead  of  the  merry,  dancing,  singing,  fear- 
less Freddy,  he  was  now  cowed,  listless  and 
miserable. 

One  evening  he  was  replacing  the  broken 
board  in  the  hall,  from  which  he  had  just 
taken  two  cents,  when  he  was  suddenly- 
seized  by  his  shoulders,  and,  looking  up, 
he  saw  that  he  was  in  the  cruel  hands  of 
Pierre,  that  bad  brother  of  Tito,  who  used 
to  tease  him  so.  He  had  been  away  all 
winter,  and  had  but  just  returned. 

"Aha!  you  young  miser!  I've  caught 
you,  magpie  !  Hiding  money,  eh  ?"  and, 
holding  him  down  forcibly  with  one  hand, 
he  raised  the  board  with  the  other. 

"  Ah,  here  we  have  it !"  he  cried.  "  Let 
me  see — fifteen  cents.  Is  that  all  ?  No,  in- 
deed. Where's  the  rest  ?" 

"  That's  all  I've  got  in  the  world,"  de- 
clared Freddy,  "  and  if  you  take  it,  Pierre, 
I  shall  starve  to  death." 


188  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


"  Who  cares?"  cried  Pierre,  releasing  him, 
and  jingling  the  money  in  his  pocket  as  he 
ran  up-stairs. 

Freddy  sat  on  the  door-step  with  a  feel- 
ing of  utter  misery  in  his  poor  little  heart. 
It  was  only  two  weeks  ago  that  he  had  been 
happy  and  prosperous  ;  now  every  day  saw 
him  more  and  more  wretched.  His  last  cent 
was  gone  now,  and  he  well  knew  that  his 
fiddle  and  blacking  -  box  would  soon  be 
taken  from  him.  Then  what  would  become 
of  him  ?  He  would  be  forced  to  join  that 
strolling  band  of  bad  men,  and  he  would 
never  have  another  chance  to  make  his  own 
living. 

"  Why  do  I  stay  here  ?"  he  asked  himself. 
"  No  one  has  a  right  to  make  me  stay  and 
work  for  them.  I  won't  do  it  any  longer. 
I'll  run  away."  He  thought  of  the  quiet 
country  place  where  Miss  Ashton  lived. 
"  I'll  go  there,"  he  thought,  "  and  maybe 
she'll  give  me  work.  I'll  tell  her  about 
Lisa,  and  maybe  she'll  come  and  take  her 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  189 


away  from  Sally.  Poor  Lisa  !  What  will 
she  do  when  I'm  gone  ?" 

At  that  moment  Lisa  came  creeping  soft- 
ly down  the  stairs,  and  sat  down  by  him. 
She  had  come  for  her  roll,  but  Freddy  did 
not  have  it.  He  told  her  what  had  hap- 
pened. "  It's  all  gone,  Lisa,  every  cent,  and 
I  can't  get  you  any  more  bread." 

Lisa  could  not  help  crying,  but,  looking 
at  his  face,  she  stopped.  "  Don't  feel  so  bad, 
Freddy  ;  I'll  get  along  somehow.  But  ain't 
you  hungry,  too?" 

"  Yes,  I'm  awfully  hungry,"  he  answered. 
"  Look  here,  Lisa,  I'm  not  going  to  stand  it 
any  longer.  I'm  a  little  chap,  I  know,  but 
I  can  make  my  own  living,  and  I'm  going 
to.  I'm  going  away  this  very  night,  before 
that  Pierre  gets  my  fiddle  and  blacking-box. 
When  I  get  rich,  I'll  come  back  for  you." 

"  Oh,  Freddy !"  cried  Lisa,  and  then  threw 
herself  on  her  face,  moaning  in  a  low  tone, 
as  if  her  heart  was  broken. 

"  Don't,    Lisa,    don't,"    sobbed    Freddy. 


190  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


"  You  see  I  ain't  no  use  to  you  now.  I've 
no  more  money  to  buy  your  bread."  He 
little  knew  that  his  kind  words  were  more 
to  the  famished  child  than  bread. 

"  Look  up,  Lisa,  and  say  good-bye,  for 
I'm  going  now,"  said  he,  in  a  choked  voice. 
<*  If  I  could  help  you,  I'd  stay  by  you,  but 
I  can't,  and  it's  best  for  me  to  go  and  try  to 
get  money.  If  I  do,  I'll  send  you  some  sure, 
and  when  I'm  big  I'll  come  and  take  you 
away." 

Suddenly  Lisa  jumped  up.  "  Take  me 
now  !"  she  cried  ;  "  I'll  go,  too.  Freddy, 
I'm  going  with  you.  I  can't  sing,  nor  help 
you,  but  I'll  die  here  without  you.  Oh, 
don't  say  I  can't  go  !  I  won't  be  a  bit  of 
trouble.  I'll  carry  your  fiddle  for  you.  Oh, 
Freddy,  you  will  take  me,  won't  you  ?"  and 
she  looked  imploringly  into  his  face. 

"  If  Sally  found  you,  she'd  kill  you,"  said 
he.  "  She'd  hunt  you  up,  and  make  you 
come  back." 

"  She'll  kill  me  if  I  stay,"  answered  Lisa. 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  191 


"  She'll  surely  kill  me  some  day  when  she 
is  drunk.  Oh,  Freddy,  do  take  me  with 
you  !" 

"  Well,  come  along,  then,"  said  Freddy, 
more  like  himself  than  he  had  been  for  a 
fortnight.  "  I'll  run  up-stairs  and  get  my 
fiddle  and  box.  I  hid  them  under  the  raft- 
ers, for  fear  they'd  take  'em  from  me.  The 
men  are  all  at  supper  now.  Wait  here  and 
don't  move,  and  I'll  be  back  in  a  minute." 

Lisa  sat  down,  her  heart  beating  wildly. 
What  if  the  men  should  hear  him,  and  catch 
him  coming  down-stairs,  and  take  his  fiddle 
and  box  and  make  him  stay?  She  knew 
that  Sally  was  too  drunk  to  hear  anything, 
but  she  listened  with  intent  eagerness  to 
every  creak  of  the  stairs,  as  Freddy  ran  , 
along.  Then  she  heard  him  enter  his  room, 
and  then  there  was  a  long  silence.  Oh,  how 
long  it  lasted  !  It  seemed  to  her  that  it 
would  never  end.  What  if  any  one  should 
come  ?  She  forgot  that  there  was  nothing 
unusual  in  her  sitting  there.  She  felt  as  if 


192  FIDDLIIS7G  FREDDY. 


every  one  suspected  their  design,  and  would 
detain  them. 

Suddenly  she  started.  Freddy  stood  at 
her  elbow.  "  Come,"  he  whispered,  and 
she  got  up  and  followed  him.  The  eve- 
ning was  a  dark  one.  Heavy  black  clouds 
hung  over  the  city,  and  hid  all  the  stars, 
and  they  could  hear  the  distant  rumbling 
of  thunder.  But  little  did  they  care  for 
that.  They  were  thankful  for  the  darkness, 
and,  stealing  out  of  the  house  softly,  the 
two  children  left  their  miserable  home, 
never  to  return  to  it,  and  hurried  out  into 
the  bleak  but  more  friendly  streets. 


X. 


IjlREDDY  and  Lisa  hurried  along,  feel- 
-A-  ing  very  guilty,  and  expecting  any  mo- 
ment to  hear  the  sound  of  pursuing  footsteps. 
Their  hearts  beat  rapidly,  and  tbeir  breath 
came  in  quick,  short  sobs  ;  but  they  held 
each  other's  hands,  and  hastened  on.  There 
was  no  occasion  for  so  much  haste  or  anx- 
iety, for  nobody  missed  them,  nor  was  it 
likely  that  any  one  would  till  morning,  when 
they  would  be  needed  for  work.  Sally  was 
too  much  intoxicated  to  know  or  care  where 
they  were  to-night.  She  lay  in  a  profound 
stupor,  and  the  men  were  engaged  in  their 
evening  amusement  of  gambling.  Even 
Pierre  was  too  much  absorbed  in  playing 
pitch-penny  to  notice  Freddy's  absence,  and 
the  poor  little  ones  might  have  sauntered 
slowly  without  risk  of  pursuit.  But  they 
17  093) 


194  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


felt  they  were  not  safe  while  in  the  vicinity 
of  their  home,  and  neither  of  them  spoke  a 
word  as  they  ran,  till  at  last  they  reached 
a  broad,  crowded  thoroughfare,  glittering 
with  gay  shops,  and  brilliantly  lighted  with 
gas. 

"  Now  we're  safe,"  said  Freddy,  "  for  no- 
body could  ever  find  us  in  this  crowd  ;  be- 
sides, I  knew  a  lot  of  good  dodging-places 
hereabouts.  So  let's  rest  ourselves  and  go 
easy." 

But  Lisa  did  not  feel  secure.  "  Oh  no, 
Freddy,"  she  cried,  "  not  yet — not  till  we 
get  a  great  ways  off,"  and  she  continued  to 
hurry  on. 

Freddy  remonstrated.  "  There's  no  use 
in  killing  ourselves,"  said  he.  "  Don't  you 
be  afraid.  Why,  they  might  as  well  hunt 
for  a  needle  in  an  ash-heap,  as  to  look  for 
us  here.  There's  such  a  lot  of  grown  folks, 
and  you  and  I  are  little,  though  we  are  old." 

Freddy  -said  this  in  good  faith.  Poor 
child  !  he  hardly  knew  what  childhood  was. 


'  How  good  it  do  smell,"  said  he      li  Don't  you  wish  there  was 
a  hole  in  the  window  ?  —  Fiddling  Freddie,  page  195. 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  195 


"  Well,  what  are  we  going  to  do  ?"  asked 
Lisa.  "  Where  will  we  sleep  to-night  ?" 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know,"  answered  Freddy, 
carelessly.  "  'Most  anywheres,  so  that  the 
pleece  don't  see  us.  You  know  they  won't 
let  us  sleep  in  the  streets." 

"  Won't  they  ?"  exclaimed  Lisa  in  dismay. 
"  But  nobody'll  let  us  come  into  their  houses 
without  paying  money,  will  they?" 

"  No,  indeed,"  answered  Freddy,  decid- 
edly, "  guess  they  wouldn't.  But  don't  you 
fret.  I'll  find  a  place  somewheres.  I'm  go- 
ing to  play  a  tune  pretty  soon,  and  try  to 
get  money  for  supper.  I'm  awfully  hungry." 
But,  in  spite  of  fatigue  and  hunger,  Freddy 
was  more  like  himself  than  he  had  been 
since  Tonio  died.  He  had  Lisa  to  protect 
and  provide  for,  and  his  spirits  rose  with 
the  emergency. 

At  last  they  came  to  a  baker's  shop,  and 
Freddy  halted. 

"  How  good  it  do  smell,"  said  he.  "  Don't 
you  wish  there  was  a  hole  in  the  window  ? 


196  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 

I  could  just  stick  in  my  fiddle-bow,  and 
hook  out  some  o'  them — cakes  and  things." 

"  But  there  is  no  hole,"  said  literal  Lisa, 
"  and  it  would  be  stealing  too." 

"Well,"  said  Freddy,  "then  I  guess  I 
won't  do  it."  As  he  spoke,  he  screwed  up 
his  fiddle,  and  drew  his  bow.  He  played 
till  his  arm  ached,  but  not  one  of  the  steady 
stream  of  passers  took^any  notice  of  him. 
"  Take  my  cap,  Lisa,"  said  he,  "  and  go  into 
the  store,  and  hand  it  round." 

Lisa  was  terribly  afraid  to  do  this,  and 
she  hesitated  for  a  moment ;  but,  remem- 
bering her  promise  not  to  give  any  trouble 
to  Freddy,  she  did  as  he  bid.  Entering 
timidly,  she  held  the  ragged  cap  before 
every  customer  in  the  store,  without  suc- 
cess, and  then  came  slowly  back  to  Freddy. 

"  They  won't  give  us  nothing,"  said  she, 
sadly.  "  If  they  knew  how  hungry  we  were, 
they  would." 

As  she  spoke,  a  servant  girl,  with  a  plea- 
sant face,  came  out  of  the  store,  and  heard 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  197 


what  she  said.     She  stopped,  and  looked  at 
the  children. 

"Are  you  really  hungry?"  she  asked. 

"  Hungry  enough  to  eat  our  heads,  if  we 
could  get  at  'em,"  answered  Freddy ;  and, 
as  he  looked  at  her,  he  recognized  that 
saucy  Sarah,  who  had  been  present  when 
he  returned  the  gold-piece. 

She  knew  him  too,  and  exclaimed,  "  Well, 
I  declare,  if  you're  not  the  very  boy  that 
saved  Ellen  Lowther  from  going  to  jail. 
Yes,  to  be  sure  !  So  now  you're  hungry, 
are  you  ?  Then  I'll  give  you  these  buns, 
and  I'll  go  get  some  more  with  my  own 
money,  for  I  believe  you're  a  good  boy,  and 
I  never  could  abear  to  see  any  one  hungry," 
and  Sarah  put  a  bundle  in  Freddy's  hands. 
It  was  soft  and  warm,  and  smelt  like  the 
baker's  shop  itself. 

"  Oh,  how  good  !"  cried  both  children  in 
a  breath  ;  and,  sitting  on  the  nearest  step, 
they  eagerly  devoured  the  nice  freshly  baked 
buns. 

17* 


198  -  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


"  It's  the  best  thing  I  ever  eat  in  all  my 
life,"  said  Lisa,  and  Freddy  nodded  his 
head  with  his  mouth  full,  in  token  of  assent. 
When  they  had  eaten  them  all,  they  felt 
wonderfully  better,  and  again  took  up  their 
march. 

"Where  are  we  going,  Freddy?"  asked 
Lisa. 

"  Up-town,"  he  answered.  He  had  no 
idea  where  they  were  going,  but  he  thought 
it  best  to  appear  self-assured,  so  as  not  to 
discourage  Lisa. 

"Don't  you  think  if  we  went  to  Mr.' 
Browning's,  he'd  let  us  sleep  in  his  house?" 
asked  Lisa. 

"  Oh,  he  don't  live  here  no  more  ;  he's 
gone  away  off  to  the  country  somewhere. 
I  met  him  one  day,  and  he  said  so  ;  but  I'll 
tell  you  what,  Lisa,  I  mean  to  go  to  the 
country  too.  If  we  could  just  get  money 
enough  to  ride  in  them  busting,  biling  steam- 
engines,  I  know  where  we'd  go  quick 
enousrh." 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  199 


"  Where  ?"  asked  Lisa. 

"  Oh,  it's  the  prettiest  place  you  ever  did 
see  ;  it's  where  my  young  lady  lives,  that 
gave  us  the  money,  you  know.  It's  all 
quiet  and  still ;  and  I'd  go  to  her,  and  ask 
her  to  take  care  of  you,  and  then  I'll  try  to 
get  work  near  by.  That's  what  I'm  bound 
to  do,  sooner  or  later." 

But  making  plans  for  the  future  did  not 
help  them  for  the  present,  and  something 
must  be  done,  for  the  night  was  cloudy,  not 
a  star  was  to  be  seen,  and  although,  in  the 
rush  and  roar  of  the  noisy  street,  they  had 
not  noticed  the  thunder,  it  had  been  mut- 
tering and  growling  and  threatening  all  this 
time. 

"  Now,  that's  too  bad  !"  cried  Freddy,  as 
a  large  rain-drop  fell  pat  on  his  nose.  "  It's 
going  to  rain,  and  nobody'll  listen  to  my 
music  ;  but,"  said  he,  cheering  up  again, 
"  it'll  make  lots  of  mud  in  the  streets,  and 
then  I  can  black  boots  to-morrow." 

Oh,  what  a  blessed  thing  it  is  to  look  on 


200  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


the  bright  side  of  life.  Freddy's  happy 
heart  carried  him  through  many  a  weary 
hour.  If  he  had  not  been  a  merry,  cheer- 
ful boy,  I  feel  quite  sure  that  he  never  would 
have  got  along  as  well  as  he  did.  He  now 
determined  to  hurry  on,  and  try  to  reach 
one  of  the  houses,  where  he  was  well  known, 
before  it  should  rain  harder.  Lisa's  little 
legs  ached,  but  she  kept  up  bravely,  deter- 
mined not  to  complain,  and  at  last  they 
stood  before  a  handsome  house.  Freddy 
tried  the  area-gate. 

"  Good  !"  said  he,  "  they  haven't  locked 
their  gate  yet." 

He  entered,  went  down  the  steps,  and  rang 
the  kitchen-bell.  The  cook  came  to  the  door. 

"Oh,  is  that  you,  fiddling  Freddy?  and 
where  have  you  been  all  this  time,  and  what 
are  you  doing  out  this  time  of  the  night  ?" 

"  I'm  not  doing  much  of  anything,"  he 
answered.  "  I  thought  maybe  you'd  let  me 
sit  by  the  fire  in  the  kitchen  awhile,  till  the 
rain  stops." 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  2OI 

"Why,  bless  your  heart,  child,  you'd 
better  be  getting  home,  for  it  will  rain  all 
night." 

"  Well,  now,  lookee  here,"  said  Freddy, 
"  I  ain't  got  no  home.  Tonio,  he's  dead, 
and  Sally,  she's  drunk,  and  beats  us,  and 
I've  runned  away,  and  so  has  Lisa." 

"  Mercy  on  me  !"  cried  the  cook.  "  What 
are  you  going  to  do  ?" 

"  I'm  going  to  fiddle,  and  black  boots,  and 
run  errands,  and  when  I  get  money  enough 
I'm  going  out  into  the  country,"  answered 
Freddy. 

"  Come  in,  dear  heart,  you're  lost  with 
cold  and  hunger,"  said  the  cook  compas- 
sionately, and  Freddy  and  Lisa  followed 
her  into  the  cheerful  kitchen. 

It  was  very  late,  nearly  eleven  o'clock  at 
night,  and  the  other  servants  had  all  gone 
to  bed  ;  only  the  cook  and  her  husband,  the 
coachman,  were  up.  She  made  them  sit 
down  by  the  fire,  and  gave  them  a  drink  of 
coffee,  which  she  warmed  for  them  over  the 


2O2  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 

range,  while  she  made  Freddy  tell  all  about 
himself  and  Lisa. 

"  And  haven't  you  any  place  to  sleep  in 
to-night?"  she  asked,  as  he  concluded. 

Freddy  shook  his  head.  "  Not  unless 
you'll  let  us  stay  out  there  under  the  steps," 
said  he.  He  had  formed  this  plan  as  they 
came  along,  but  was  afraid  he  would  not  be 
allowed  to  carry  it  out.  "  It's  a  dry  place," 
he  urged,  "  and  the  pleece  can't  see  us  there, 
if  we  hug  up  close  to  the  wall,  and  it  won't 
hurt  nothing.  Mayn't  we  stay  there  ?  If 
you'll  let  us,  I'll  black  the  boots  for  you  in 
the  morning,"  he  added,  turning  to  the 
coachman. 

"  Lord  help  you,"  cried  the  woman,  draw- 
ing the  back  of  her  hand  across  her  eyes. 
"  Can't  you  take  them  round  to  the  stable, 
John,  and  let  them  sleep  there  ?  They  won't 
do  no  harm." 

"  Well,"  said  John,  slowly  rising  as  he 
spoke,  "  it's  time  for  me  to  be  harnessing  my 
horses,  I  s'pose.  I  don't  mind  if  the  chil- 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  203 


dren  come  for  once.  I'll  be  up  most  all 
night,  for  our  ladies  won't  be  home  from 
their  ball  till  near  morning'.  What  a  world 
it  is,  to  be  sure.  Half  the  folks  in  it  have 
no  place  to  sleep,  and  the  half  that  has  don't 
seem  to  want  to  do  it,  going  gadding  about 
at  nights,  and  keeping  their  cattle  up  till 
morning  as  well  as  theirselves." 

"  Ah,  but  they  makes  up  for  it  in  the  morn- 
ing, you  see,"  replied  his  wife.  "  Now, 
children,  you  may  come  round  early,  and 
I'll  give  you  the  cold  bits  for  your  break- 
fast. Yes,  it's  a  queer  world,  to  be  sure, 
but  we  must  just  make  the  best  of  it." 
And,  moralizing  thus,  the  kind-hearted  cook 
went  with  them  to  the  door,  giving  John  a 
large  cotton  umbrella,  and  telling  all  to 
hurry  through  the  rain.  "  Run  between 
the  drops,"  was  her  last  injunction,  as  she 
closed  the  door  behind  them. 

It  was  well  for  Freddy  that  he  had  so 
kind  a  friend,  for  the  rain  was  now  pelting 
pitilessly  those  exposed  to  it,  and  the  wind 


2O4  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


drove  it  along  with  fury,  so  that  he  and  Lisa 
would  have  been  soaked  through,  even  in 
what  he  had  called  his  good  dry  place.  A 
very  few  minutes'  fast  walking  brought  them 
to  the  handsome  private  stable,  where  the 
horses  were  much  better  cared  for  than 
those  poor  children  ever  had  been.  John 
unlocked  the  door,  and  led  them  in,  then 
taking  them  up  a  flight  of  stairs,  he  showed 
them  a  hay-loft,  where  he  told  them  they 
could  asleep.  And  thankful  and  glad  they 
were  to  cuddle  down  on  the  clean,  dry  hay, 
where  they  soon  forgot  all  their  sorrows 
and  anxieties  in  a  deep  sleep. 

They  did  not  hear  the  thunder,  nor  see 
the  flashing  lightning ;  they  did  not  even 
wake  when  John  drove  into  the  stable  with 
a  great  noise  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, wet  and  tired.  They  had  gone  to  sleep 
with  a  blessed  sense  of  security.  This  night 
at  least  they  were  safely  housed,  and  in  the 
morning  there  would  be  no  Sally  to  waken 
them  with  curses,  or  to  beat  them  if  they 


FIDDLING    FREDDY.  2O5 


failed  to  perform  all  their  heavy  work  well. 
The  storm  passed  with  the  night,  and  the 
morning  sun  shone  through  the  stable-win- 
dow on  two  pale  but  happy  little  faces  lying 
on  the  hay.  Its  bright  beams  woke  Lisa, 
who  started  up  hurriedly,  but  lay  back  again 
with  a  quiet  smile  as  she  remembered  where 
she  was. 

"Are  you  awake?"  asked  Freddy,  rub- 
bing his  eyes. 

"  Yes  ;  I've  been  dreaming  that  you  and 
me  had  gone  up  to  live  in  the  sky,"  said 
she. 

"  Well,  I've  been  dreaming  that  there  was 
a  great  big  boot  to  be  blacked — as  big,  oh, 
as  big  as  all  out-doors — and  I  kept  on  rub- 
bing at  it,  and  rubbing  at  it,  and  the  more 
I  rubbed  the  taller  it  grew,  till  at  last  there 
was  no  end  to  it  at  all.  Now,  I  guess  I'd 
better  hurry  up,  and  get  to  work." 

So  saying  he  sprang  up,  and  followed  by 
Lisa,  they  went  down-stairs,  where  they 
found  John,  quite  sleepy  and  cross,  but  who 
18 


206  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


let  them  out  of  the  stable,  and  told  Freddy 
to  be  sure  and  black  the  three  pair  of  boots 
he  would  find  waiting  for  him.  And  so  the 
day  began  happily,  for  a  good  breakfast 
made  Lisa  and  Freddy  very  comfortable. 
He  was  as  bright  as  a  button  this  morning, 
and  told  the  cook  he  knew  he  should  get 
along  "  first-rate." 

"  You  may  come  back  to  the  stable  to- 
night," said  John,  when  he  saw  the  three 
pairs  of  boots  nicely  blacked  ;  "  but  be  early, 
for  I  shut  up  by  nine  o'clock  to-night." 

Freddy  promised,  and  he  and  Lisa  set 
out  in  search  of  work.  It  was  as  Freddy 
had  predicted.  There  was  plenty  of  mud, 
and  many  muddy  boots  to  be  blacked  that 
day.  Lisa  held  his  fiddle  while  he  worked, 
or  carried  his  cap  round  when  he  fiddled, 
and  all  the  time  she  thought  what  a  clever 
boy  Freddy  was.  She  confided  it  to  him 
after  a  while. 

"  How'd  we  ever  get  along,  if  I  wasn't?" 
was  his  answer;  but  he  laughed  as  he  said 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  2O/ 

it ;  and  even  if  it  was  a  little  bit  conceited, 
we  must  forgive  it,  because  he  was  so  heart- 
ily in  earnest  in  his  efforts  to  take  care  of 
poor  little  Lisa.  But  that  afternoon,  just  as 
Lisa  was  beginning  to  recover  a  little  from 
the  panic  she  had  been  in  all  day,  for  fear 
of  being  seen  by  some  one  who  knew  them, 
she  suddenly  caught  hold  of  Freddy's  arm, 
just  as  he  was  executing  a  wonderful  flour- 
ish with  his  bow. 

"  Freddy  !"  she  gasped,  "  Come  !  Run  ! 
There's  Tito's  father  and  his  band,  and 
Pierre.  Oh,  run  !" 

And  away  she  darted,  followed  by  Fred- 
dy, who  had  looked  up  in  time  to  see  the 
strolling  band  of  musicians  turn  the  cor- 
ner. 

Away  flew  the  children.  Oh,  had  Pierre 
seen  them  ?  If  so,  they  knew  he  would  fol- 
low them,  catch  them,  and  bring  them  back, 
and  that  Lisa  would  be  sent  back  to  Sally. 
On  and  on  they  ran,  never  daring  to  look 
behind ;  on  and  on,  across  broad  avenues, 


208  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


down  side  streets,  turning  at  every  corner, 
gasping,  panting,  but  still  running  wildly 
from  their  supposed  pursuer. 


XL 

AT  last  they  stopped  to  take  breath. 
They  had  run  a  long  way,  and  were 
now  far  over  on  the  west  side  of  the  city, 
in  the  avenue  which  lies  by  the  water's 
edge.  Freddy  looked  about  him,  unde- 
cided what  to  do  next. 

"What  shall  we  do?"  cried  Lisa;  "they'll 
be  sure  to  find  us,"  and  she  wrung  her  hands 
in  her  distress,  and  looked  fearfully  over  her 
shoulder  every  minute. 

"  I  don't  believe  they  saw  us,"  said  Fred- 
dy. "  Pierre  would  have  caught  up  to  us 
long  ago,  and  I  don't  believe  they  saw  us 
at  all." 

"  But  you  won't  go  back  there  will  you, 
Freddy  ?" 

"  No,"  said  he,  "  I  won't ;   I'm  afraid  to. 
They  might  see  us  some  time  or  other." 
"    18*  (209) 


210  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


"  Then  where  will  we  go  ?"  again  asked 
Lisa. 

"  Shut  up  for  a  minute,  Lisa,  can't  you, 
and  let  me  think."  Freddy  said  this  with 
impatience,  but  not  with  anger.  He  felt 
all  the  responsibility  of  his  position,  and 
knew  no  more  than  she  did,  yet  he  felt  that 
he  was  the  one  to  decide  and  act  in  this  try- 
ing emergency.  They  sat  down  together 
on  the  curbstone,  and  Freddy  began  to 
count  his  day's  earnings. 

"  Twenty  cents  ! "  said  he.  "  'Tain't 
enough." 

"  For  what  ?"  asked  Lisa. 

"  To  pay  our  way  on  a  steam-engine,"  he 
answered.  "  I  want  to  get  out  of  the  way, 
off  to  the  country,  but  I'll  have  to  make 
more  money  first.  Come  !  Let's  walk  on, 
and  I'll- fiddle  before  some  barber's  or  bak- 
er's store." 

Both  children  were  trembling  with  their 
fright  and  rapid  race,  but  they  walked  along 
slowly  again,  keeping  a  look-out  for  an  eligi- 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  211 


ble  place  before  which  Freddy  could  play. 
But  nothing  of  the  sort  was  to  be  seen. 
Large  piles  of  lumber  stood  by  the  side 
of  the  street ;  machine  -  shops  and  store- 
houses and  lumber-yards  there  were  in 
plenty,  and  horses  and  carts  loading  up 
with  cotton  bales,  and  busy-looking  men 
with  pencils  in  their  mouths  superintend- 
ing workmen  ;  but  it  was  evidently  no  place 
for  music. 

After  walking  some  time,  the  children 
came  to  steamboat  docks,  and  now  there 
was  much  more  confusion.  Foot-passen- 
gers jostled  each  other,  express  wagons 
came  thundering  along,  orange  -  women 
cried  loudly  to  others  to  come  and  buy, 
hackmen  swore,  policemen  strutted,  and 
everybody  was  in  a  hurry.  Freddy  and 
Lisa  made  their  way,  though  Lisa  narrowly 
escaped  being  run  over  by  a  dray,  and  Fred- 
dy's fiddle  was  nearly  knocked  from  under 
his  arm  by  a  passing  candy  basket.  Sud- 
denly he  had  a  bright  idea. 


212  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


"  Come  along,"  said  he,  "  I'm  going  aboard 
that  boat.  We'll  go  wherever  it  goes  as  far 
as  our  money  will  take  us.  We  must  get 
out  of  the  city,  for  I  know  we'll  be  took  up 
if  we  don't." 

Nothing  loth,  Lisa  followed  him  to  a 
barge  lying  at  the  wharf.  It  seemed  to  be 
very  full  of  cotton  bales  and  boxes  and  fur- 
niture, and  men  were  running  over  the 
plank  between  it  and  the  dock  with  more 
boxes,  and  nobody  noticed  the  two  chil- 
dren, who  crept  timidly  on  board  and  hid 
behind  a  large  packing-case.  Here  they 
carried  on  their  conversation  in  whispers. 

"  We  won't  stir  out  from  here  till  the 
boat  goes,"  said  Freddy,  "for  if  we  did 
they'd  put  us  off." 

"  But  how  do  you  know  where  we'll  get 
taken  to  ?"  asked  Lisa. 

"  I  don't  know,  but  any  place  is  better 
than  where  we  come  from,  I  guess.  Don't 
you  be  scared,  Lisa,  we'll  get  along." 

"  Won't  the  cook  and  John  think  we're 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  213 


bad  if  we  don't  come  back  to-night  to  the 
stable,  Freddy  ?" 

"  Dessay  they  will,  but  I  can't  help  it ! 
What's  a  fellow  to  do  ?  We  can't  go  back 
to  old  Sally,  anyhow  you  can  fix  it." 

Lisa  admitted  the  force  of  this  argument, 
and  they  both  sat  very  still,  breathing  hard, 
and  occasionally  nudging  each  other  when 
some  passing  footstep  drew  near  their  place 
of  retreat.  The  bustle  and  confusion  in- 
creased on  the  boat,  and  there  was  a  great 
deal  of  shouting  and  running  and  piling  up 
of  trunks  and  then  passengers  came  on  board, 
but  they  all  went  up  a  narrow  pair  of  stairs, 
and  Freddy  longed  to  run  up  too  and  see 
where  they  went  to,  but  Lisa  begged  him 
not  to,  and  kept  tight  hold  of  his  jacket. 

Soon  a  bell  began  to  ring,  and  then  a  col- 
ored man  went  by,  beating  a  gong,  and  cry- 
ing, "  All  ashore  that's  going !"  This  fright- 
ened Lisa  terribly,  and  she  thought  that  he 
had  been  sent  on  purpose  to  send  them 
away.  She  stopped  her  ears  and  hid  her 


214  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


face  on  Freddy's  shoulders,  trembling  with 
'fear.  But  the  horrible  din  soon  ceased,  and 
Freddy  told  her  not  to  be  afraid,  that  noth- 
ing would  hurt  her,  and  that  he  had  often 
heard  a  gong  before  in  the  small  hotels, 
where  he  occasionally  found  his  way  while 
fiddling  or  blacking  boots.  And  now  a  hush 
Seemed  to  fall  on  everything  :  all  the  bustle 
was  over,  and  Lisa  wondered  why  it  was 
quiet  so  suddenly. 

"  We're  sailing  off  now,"  said  Freddy, 
putting  his  head  out  and  looking  around 
the  corner  of  the  box.  "  Oh,  Lisa  !  I  can 
see  the  shore  a-moving  off !  That's  just 
the  way  it  does  on  the  steam-engines,  only 
that  it's  a  great  deal  faster.  Oh,  there's  the 
water!  Look  out,  Lisa,  and  see  the  water!" 

But  Lisa  was  too  frightened  yet  to  look, 
and  she  kept  jerking  Freddy  back  by  his 
jacket,  which  caused  so  many  sudden  ap- 
pearances and  disappearances  of  his  curly 
black  head  (for  he  "would  insist  on  looking), 
that  finally  the  attention  of  a  man  standing 


FIDDLING  FREDDY.  21$ 


near  was  arrested.  Just  as  Lisa  for  the 
twentieth  time  was  imploring  Freddy  to 
keep  still,  she  heard  a  gruff  voice  say, 
"  What  are  you  doing  there  ?"  and  in  a 
minute  a  big,  burly  man  stood  before  the 
two  children. 

"  What  are  you  dqing  here  ?"  he  re- 
peated. 

"  Nothing,  sir,"  answered  Freddy,  trying 
not  to  feel  frightened,  while  Lisa  now  really 
felt  as  if  her  last  hour  had  come. 

"  Come  out  here,  then  !  What  are  you 
hiding  there  for  ?  So  you  smuggled  your- 
self on  board,  did  you,  you  young  rascal !" 
he  continued,  addressing  all  his  remarks  to 
Freddy,  and  taking  no  notice  of  Lisa.  "  Now, 
do  you  know  what  we  do  with  boys  who 
come  on  board  that  way  ?" 

"  No,"  said  Freddy. 

"  We  just  chuck  'em  overboard  !"  said 
the  man,  taking  Freddy  by  the  collar. 

Lisa  screamed. 

"Oh,  don't,  don't!     He's  got  money  to 


2l6  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


pay,  he  will  pay  !"  she  cried,  almost  frantic 
with  terror,  clinging  to  Freddy  and  push- 
ing the  man  away  with  all  her  force. 

Freddy  said  nothing,  but  took  off  his 
money-bag  and  handed  it  to  the  man,  who 
opened  it,  and  held  it  between  his  fingers 
and  thumb  rather  daintily.  But,  to  tell  the 
truth,  it  was  a  greasy  little  bag; 

"  There's  twenty  cents  in  it,"  said  Fred- 
dy, "and  that's  all  I've  got,  and,  when  we've 
sailed  twenty  cents'  worth,  we'll  get  off.  / 
don't  want  to  cheat  you." 

Now  the  man  who  spoke  so  roughly  had 
in  reality  a  kind  heart,  and,  when  he  saw 
that  Freddy  had  not  intended  to  be  dishon- 
est, he  spoke  more  gently,  and  asked  them 
where  they  wanted  to  go.  When  he  heard 
their  story  he  looked  very  grave. 

"  Don't  you  know,"  said  he,  "  that  you 
can  make  more  money  in  the  city  than  in 
the  country,  where  folks  don't  care  much 
for  music,  and  wear  mud  an  inch  thick  on 
their  shoes?"  This  was  discouraging,  and 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  2 1/ 


even  Freddy  looked  downcast  for  a  mo- 
ment, but  he  soon  said,  hopefully  : 

"  I'm  going  to  my  young  lady  if  ever  I 
can  find  her,  and  I  know  she'll  help  me 
somehow." 

This  led  to  further  inquiry,  and  Freddy 
tried  to  describe  the  place  he  had  been 
taken  to  by  the  cars,  and  where  Miss  Ash- 
ton  lived.  The  man  shook  his  head. 

"  The  world's  a  big  place,"  said  he,  "  and 
I'm  afraid  you  won't  find  just  the  one  you're 
looking  for,  but  I  daresay  you'll  find  others 
who  will  help  you  along.  You  had  better 
go  ashore  the  first  time  the  boat  stops ;  it 
is  as  good  a  place  as  any,  and  nearer  to  the 
city  in  case  you  want  to  get  back  there." 

"  Oh,  I'll  never  go  back,"  said  Freddy, 
"  not  till  Lisa  is  big  enough  to  take  care 
of  herself  any  way  ;"  and  Lisa  murmured, 
"  Oh,  no  !  we'll  never  go  back." 

The  man  thought  of  his  own  two  chil- 
dren, and  a  deep  feeling  of  pity  came  into 
his  heart  as  he  looked  at  these  little  ones 
19 


2l8  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 

wandering  about  alone,  their  object  being 
to  escape  from  the  only  home  they  knew. 
He  gave  back  the  bag  to  Freddy,  saying : 
"  Keep  it,  you'll  need  it  all,  I  reckon,"  and 
then  he  walked  away,  but  when  the  boat 
stopped  at  its  first  landing-place  he  watched 
and  saw  both  the  children  go  on  shore  as 
he  had  advised.  The  sun  was  setting  as 
they  left  the  boat,  and  woods,  rocks  and 
river  glowed  with  golden  light.  Freddy 
and  Lisa  walked  slowly  along  the  dock, 
and  then  turned  into  a  road  which  ran  by 
the  water's  edge. 

"  Why,  here  are  the  rails  that  the  steam- 
engines  run  on,"  said  Freddy,  seeing  the 
railroad  track.  "  Oh,  Lisa,  maybe  we've  got 
to  the  right  place  after  all,  for  the  rails  and 
the  road  was  just  like  this,  and  the  river  too." 

"  Would  you  know  it,  if  you  saw  it 
again  ?"  asked  Lisa. 

"Well,  I  don't  know,  for  everything's 
green  now,  and  then  it  was  all  white  and 
lovely." 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  219 


"  I  don't  believe  it  was  a  bit  better  than 
it  is  now,"  said  Lisa,  looking  around  her. 

Before  her  lay  the  broad,  blue  river,  be- 
hind were  the  green  fields,  while  at  a  little 
distance  the  trees  of  the  woods  were  rust- 
ling their  early  leaves,  and  the  air  seemed 
full  of  the  chirping  of  birds,  as  they  darted 
to  and  fro,  hurrying  home  to  their  nests. 
At  her  feet  blue  violets  were  springing, 
while  the  delicate  wild  flower  tossed  its 
white  head  above  them  ;  dandelions  lay  like 
stars  in  her  path,  and  the  buttercups  were 
doing  their  best  to  turn  the  fields  into  gold. 

"  It  couldn't  be  more  lovely,"  said  Lisa, 
decidedly,  and  Freddy  began  to  whistle  a 
merry  tune  as  they  sauntered  on.  "  And 
Sally  can't  find  us  here,"  continued  Lisa ; 
"  oh,  Freddy,  I  am  so  glad  we  came !" 

"  Yes,"  said  he,  "  but  I  wonder  where  we 
are  ;  I  don't  see  any  houses  hereabouts ; 
not  much  money  to  be  made  here,  I  guess. 
The  trees  don't  want  their  boots  blacked, 
and  the  birds  have  their  own  music.  Never 


22O      '  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


mind,  come  along ;  I'm  going  to  walk  on 
the  rails  and  see  where  they  go  to." 

"  They  don't  go  anywhere,"  said  Lisa, 
smiling.  "  We  go  !" 

Freddy  called  her  a  goose,  but  he  thought 
at  the  same  time  how  pretty  she  was  when 
she  smiled.  He  had  not  often  seen  her 
smile  —  her  hard  life  had  not  helped  to 
make  her  face  a  merry  one  ;  but,  though 
the  children  did  not  know  it,  the  time  for 
laughter  and  dimples  was  at  hand  for  Lisa, 
and  smiles  would  soon  be  as  natural  to  her 
as  tears  had  heretofore  been.  Just  as  they 
turned  a  sharp  corner  around  a  bluff  of 
rocks,  Freddy  gave  a  shout. 

"  There's  the  very  house !"  he  cried, 
pointing  to  a  pretty  brown  one  that  stood 
on  a  hill  at  a  little  distance,  somewhat  re- 
moved from  the  village  which  Freddy  now 
saw  stretching  out  before  him.  "  There's 
the  very  house  that  my  young  lady  lives 
in  ;  come  on,  Lisa  !"  And,  in  a  great  state 
of  excitement,  thcv  started  to  run,  and 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  221 


soon  reached  the  gate.  But  here  they  paused. 
"What  if  she  shouldn't  help  us  after  all?" 
said  Freddy,  suddenly  remembering  that 
he  had  no  claim  whatever  on  Miss  Ashton. 
Very  likely  she  had  forgotten  him,  or,  if 
she  had  not,  there  was  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  she  would  do  anything  for  him.  He 
felt  as  if  the  ground  had  suddenly  slidden 
from  under  his  feet.  What  an  insecure 
foundation  he  had  built  his  hopes  on  !  If 
she  did  not  help  them,  what  would  become 
of  Lisa?  He  could  get  along,  he  said  to 
himself,  most  anyways,  but  what's  to  become 
of  Lisa?  Oh,  how  mudi  he  felt  the  need 
of  a  friend  then  ! 

"  I'll  do  my  best,"  he  thought,  "  and  if 
she  won't  help  us,  I'll  take-  care  of  Lisa. 
I  can  do  it  somehow  or  other,  I  guess." 

But  it  took  some  courage  to  face  this 
idea.  Oh,  if  he  only  had  some  one  to  help 
him  !  Some  confused  recollection  of  what 
Mr.  Browning  had  told  him  about"  God's 
care  of  his  children  flitted  across  his  brain. 


222  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


"  Lisa,"  said  he,  suddenly,  "  what  did  Mr. 
Browning  say  about  them  birds,  and  who 
takes  care  of  them  ?" 

"  He  said  God  took  care  of  them,  and 
that  he  takes  care  of  'us  too,  and  loves  us 
ever  so  much  better  than  the  birds.  Don't 
you  'spose  he  made  us  come  to  the  right 
place?"  she  asked,  simply. 

"  Maybe  so,"  answered  Freddy,  absently. 
He  was  wondering  if  it  really  was  so,  if 
God  did  really  care  about  them,  and  "had 
brought  them  on  their  way. 

"  What's  that  thing  Mr.  Browning  told  us 
to  say  to  God  every  day  ?  I've  forgotten." 

"  Oh,  Freddy,  didn't  you  say  it  ?" 

'•Well,  I  believe  I  did  once  on  a  time, 
but  I  never  had  no  time,  you  know  ;  what 
was  it,  anyway  ?" 

"  Lord,  help  me  !"  said  Lisa,  slowly  and 
reverently.  It  had  been  her  daily  prayer 
ever  since  she  had  learned  it.  "  Let's  say 
it  now,  Freddy,  together ;  maybe  He'll  help 
us  now,  right  away." 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  22$ 


"  That's  what  I  was  thinking,"  said  Fred- 
dy. "  It  don't  seem  as  if  anybody  else  was 
a-going  to,  we're  all  alone  so ;  do  you  'spose 
he  can  hear?" 

"  Yes,  I  know  he  can  ;  come,  Freddy,  let's 
say  it  now."  And  with  their  eyes  fixed  on 
the  glowing  heavens,  these  two  poor  little 
wandering  ones  made  their  simple  cry  to  the 
mighty  God,  to  the  gentle,  loving  Lord  who 
had  been  homeless  for  their  sakes,  whose 
everlasting  arms  of  love  were  around  them, 
though  they  knew  it  not. 

"  I  guess  He  will,"  then  cried  Freddy,  in 
a  cheery  voice. 

"  I  knoiv  He  will,"  said  Lisa,  quietly.  So 
they  opened  the  gate,  and  walked  up  to  the 
house. 

"  I'll  fiddle  a  tune  ;  maybe  that'll  fetch 
them  out,"  said  Freddy.  He  had  not  play- 
ed long  before  a  child  ran  out  to  hear  him. 

"  Oh,  sister  Minnie  !"  she  cried,  "  come 
here,  come  quick  ;  here's  a  little  fiddling 
boy,  just  like  the  one  you  told  us  about ; 


224  FIDDLING   FREDDY. 


do  come  and  see  him."  And  pretty  Min- 
nie Ashton  came  to  look. 

"  Is  that  fiddling  Freddy  ?"  said  she,  plea- 
santly. "  Why,  to  be  sure.  How  did  you 
find  your  way  here?" 

"  I  didn't  just  ezackly  find  it,  ma'am," 
he  replied,  bobbing  his  head  and  scraping 
with  his  foot,  "  the  boat  kinder  brought  me 
along." 

"  And  how  have  you  been  all  this  time, 
and  how  is  Tonio?"  she  continued,  think- 
ing that  it  would  please  him  to  see  that  she 
remembered  about  him.  Then  Freddy  told 
his  story,  and  how  he  and  Lisa  had  run 
away  from  Sally's  cruelty. 

"  I  thought  if  I  could  get  Lisa  here,  may- 
be you'd  take  care  of  her,"  said  he,  simply, 
"and  so  I  brung  her.  Look  up,  Lisa,"  he 
continued,  pulling  her  forward.  "  Here  she 
be,  ma'am  ;  she's  a  dreadful  nice  little  girl 
when  you  come  to  know  her ;  sews  beauti- 
ful, washes  dishes,  scrubs,  does  most  any- 
thing but  sing.  And  she's  real  pretty  when 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  225 


she's  clean — wish  I'd  washed  her  face  as  we 
came  along,"  he  added  to  himself. 

Freddy's  earnest  face  was  far  more  im- 
pressive than  his  words,  and  Lisa's  delicate 
figure  and  soft,  sweet  eyes,  now  bright  with 
hope,  spoke  volumes  for  her. 

But  it  was  rather  a  startling-  proposition, 
to  take  an  unknown  child  into  her  house, 
and  Miss  Ashton  felt  somewhat  bewildered. 
But  she  brought  them  into  the  clean,  bright 
kitchen,  ordered  supper  for  them,  and  told 
them  they  should  stay  there  until  she  could 
form  some  suitable  plan  for  them.  Well 
pleased,  Freddy  became  his  own  joyous 
self  again,  and  that  evening  the  kitchen 
resounded  with  merry  music  and  laughter, 
as  Minnie's  little  sisters  danced,  while  Fred- 
dy fiddled,  and  Lisa,  quiet  and  happy,  sat 
by,  and  looked  and  listened. 

Minnie  was  the  mistress  of  the  house,  her 
mother  having  died  some  years  ago,  and 
her  father,  who  was  wholly  engrossed  in 
business,  was  only  too  glad  to  leave  his  lit- 


226  FIDDLING  FREDDY. 


tie  ones  in  the  loving  care  of  their  sis- 
ter. The  responsibilities  of  her  position 
had  made  her  older  in  thought  and  action 
than  most  girls  of  her  age,  but  her  heart 
was  always  young,  though  in  following  its 
generous  impulses  she  was  guided  by  wis- 
dom. Very  carefully  and  earnestly  and 
prayerfully  she  considered  the  case  of  the 
poor  little  wanderers.  She  was  well  ac- 
quainted with  Mr.  Browning,  who  had 
lately  moved  into  that  neighborhood,  and 
to  whom  she  applied  for  the  verification  of 
Freddy's  story.  He  was  able  to  vouch  for 
its  truth,  and  earnestly  begged  Miss  Ash- 
ton  to  befriend  little  Lisa,  telling  her  what 
a  terrible  life  she  had  led  with  Sally.  This 
decided  her,  and  she  determined  to  take 
Lisa  into  her  family,  and  teach  her  all  that 
was  necessary  to  learn  in  order  to  fit  her- 
self to  gain  her  own  livelihood  in  future 
years. 

Freddy  was  to  work  under  the  gardener 
and  help  to  take  care  of  the  horse,  an  ar- 


FIDDLING   FREDDY.  227 


rangement  which  met  with  his  hearty  ap- 
probation. Both  children  remained,  there- 
fore, in  this  quiet,  happy  home  to  which 
they  had  been  led  so  mercifully,  and  in  the 
neat,  pretty,  happy  little  girl,  and  bright, 
energetic,  steady  boy,  no  one  would  have 
recognized  the  neglected  children  who  had 
wandered  through  the  desolate  streets. 
Freddy's  fiddle  had  to  give  place  to  a  hoe, 
but  his  clear,  sweet  voice  rang  merrily  as 
he  worked  and  sang  at  the  same  time,  and 
when  the  day's  work  was  over  he  was  never 
too  tired  to  play  his  lively  jigs  for  the  little 
ones. 

But  there  was  one  tune  he  kept  for  Lisa, 
because  she  loved  it  better  than  any  other. 
And  often,  when  the  golden  sunlight  fell 
softly  on  the  trees,  and  the  lengthening 
shadows  reached  the  vine-covered  porch, 
Lisa,  sitting  on  the  door-step,  making  mel- 
ody in  her  heart,  would  look  happily  into 
Freddy's  earnest  face  as  he  shouted  "  the 
glad  tidings,"  and,  when  the  last  sweet  note 


228 


FIDDLING  FREDDY: 


was  sung,  she  would  say,  "  Those  were 
tidings  of  great  joy  to  us,  Freddy  dear — 
glad  tidings  of  great  joy." 


THE    END. 


'' 


1  1 


L  009  523  479  5 


*IEv* 

:lOS-ANCFlft 


*    t»~r|  I 

I  I 


aos-/ 


